FROM: 

EFSA

Over the past 10 to 15 years, beekeepers have been reporting unusual weakening of bee numbers and colony losses, particularly in Western European countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

In May 2012, as part of its strategy for tackling declining bee numbers, the European Commission allocated 3.3 million euros to support 17 Member States carrying out surveillance studies aimed at gathering further information on losses of honey bee colonies.

EU framework

In 2010 the European Commission issued a Communication on Honeybee Health, which clarified the key issues related to bee health and the key actions that the Commission is taking to address them.

EFSA's activities

In 2009 EFSA launched a project to assess bee surveillance systems in the EU, and to collate and analyse data and publications related to honey bee colony mortality across Europe. The Agence Francaise de Securite Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA, forerunner of Anses) set up a consortium of seven European bee disease research institutes to answer the call for data and a literature review. The subsequent report Bee Surveillance and Bee Mortality in Europe, made a number of recommendations to improve surveillance as well as identifying consensus across the EU on the multifactorial origins of the decline in bee numbers. It also helped to shape the Commission's strategy for tackling the decline in bee numbers across Europe, which was clarified in a key communication on honey bee health published in 2010.

In February 2012 the Pesticides Unit reviewed the risk of thiamethoxam to honeybees, as requested by the European Commission, on the basis of new information submitted. Thiamethoxam is a member of the neonicotinoid group of insecticides, which some studies suggest could be a contributing factor to bee colony losses. The use of neonicotinoids is restricted in Germany, Italy, France and Slovenia. (Read more) or read risk assessments for clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam.