An EU-wide petition aimed at protecting bees in farming says it has collected enough signatures to be taken seriously by the European Commission, days before a key deadline.
On Wednesday, the citizens’ initiative, Save Bees and Farmers, had surpassed the one-million mark according to its website.
It had until Thursday to do so.
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“The fact that we managed this in spite of the massive restrictions due to the COVID crisis shows how much people are demanding a change of course in agricultural policy,’’ said Veronika Feicht of the Munich Environmental Institute, one of the campaign organizers.
The petition is demanding EU legislation to gradually phase out synthetic pesticides, a return to biodiversity and a move away from industrial-scale agriculture.
The commission, the European Union’s executive arm, must consider any European citizens’ initiative that collects at least one million signatures from seven member states.
It is not compelled to draft legislation, however.
Source: dpa