Romania Warned by EU Over Banned Pesticide That Poisons Bees

A sunflower field near the village of Adamclisi, 240 km south-east of Bucharest, Romania. Photo: EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT. Romania has been warned by the EU about its continued use of a banned pesticide which is harmful to bees, with the European Commission sending Bucharest a letter of formal notice for failing to comply with the bloc’s regulations on the sale and use of pesticides. According to the European Commission, Romania has repeatedly granted emergency authorisations for the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids, specifically imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, despite an EU-wide ban on their outdoor use. These substances have been shown to be harmful to pollinators such as bees. “The granting of emergency authorisations can be considered a persistent practice of the Romanian authorities. Furthermore, the Romanian authorities have not indicated any plans to stop granting the authorisations in question for future sowing periods,” the Commission said in a press release. The use of three neonicotinoids – imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam – was explicitly prohibited in 2018 in the EU in laws adopted under the bloc’s Plant Protection Products Regulation (PPPR). But despite repeated warnings from Brussels, Romania issued 12 temporary emergency authorisations in 2023 and 2024 for the use of banned pesticides on cereal, maize and sunflower seeds.  Defending its decision to use the chemical, the Romanian Agriculture Ministry cited severe pest infestations and economic pressures, and said that the treated seeds were restricted to the worst-affected areas, with strict controls in place to minimise environmental risks. In recent years, sunflower and maize crops – particularly in southern Romania – have faced serious threats from soil pests, endangering farmers’ livelihoods. Romania remains one of Europe’s largest sunflower producers. While EU law allows emergency authorisations in cases of serious danger, where agricultural threats cannot be controlled by other means, a January 2023 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union clarified that such exemptions cannot apply to the outdoor use of these banned substances. The Commission said that Romania’s continued approval of these pesticides constitutes a “persistent practice” in violation of EU law. Bucharest now has two months to reply and address the Commission’s concerns. If its response is deemed unsatisfactory, the Commission may proceed to the next stage of the infringement procedure, potentially bringing the case before the EU Court of Justice.