A European Union court decision prohibiting such exemptions has halted France’s plans to allow sugar beet farmers to continue using a banned pesticide for another year.
Following severe crop disease losses in 2020, France granted sugar beet growers a three-year exemption from a general ban on the use of neonicotinoid chemicals. The government was working on a third and final annual dispensation for the 2023 sugar beet crop.
However, the European Union’s Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that member states cannot offer exemptions to the bloc’s ban on crop seeds treated with neonicotinoids, which are considered a threat to bees.
France is the EU’s largest agricultural producer, and it competes with Germany to be the bloc’s largest sugar producer.
French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau tweeted that he was aware of the decision.
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