Brussels/Exeter – Bees and other wildlife are exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides even if they are used only inside greenhouses, a new study published today by Greenpeace Science Unit reveals.

A statement by European agriculture ministers on the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) ignores the impacts on public health and the environment, according to Greenpeace.

European governments have backed a European Commission plan for a near-total ban of three bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides. Representatives from 16 countries meeting in Brussels voted in support of the EU ban.

The European Commission has slashed funding earmarked for environmental protection in a draft seven-year EU budget released today.

The General Court of the European Union has ruled that the European Commission was right to impose restrictions on the use of three bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides – imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.