Perilous
Times
Massive die off of bees worries Europe's parliament
by Staff Writers
Brussels (AFP) Nov 15, 2011
Bothered by spiking mortality rates for bees, Europe's
parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to urge the EU to
provide more funding for the beekeeping sector.
MEPs voted 534 in favour, with 16 against and 92 abstentions, to
support research and development in veterinary medecine to save
the declining bee population, while also enforcing legislation on
killer pesticides.
"Beekeeping is crucial for our society as pollination plays an
essential role in preserving biodiversity and maintaining
sustainable European agriculture and food security," said
Hungarian Socialist Csaba Tabajdi, who drafted the resolution.
"Albert Einstein once said that without bees, man would live no
more than four years," he added.
Better data on hives and bee losses were needed as well as funding
for medicines because pharmaceutical firms were reluctant to
invest in a relatively small market.
The European Commission also needed to issue legislative proposals
to turn recommendations on pesticides into law, parliamentarians
said.
Some 84 percent of Europe's fauna and 76 percent of agriculture
depend on pollination from bees.