Court decision puts a stop to legal challenge on neonics authorisation

The NFU is pleased that the High Court has cut short Friends of the Earth’s legal challenge to the Government’s neonicotinoid authorisations today.

The environmental campaign group attempted to bring a legal challenge against the Government’s decision to grant the NFU’s emergency authorisations for two neonicotinoid-based plant protection products. The Court concluded today that the challenge is “unarguable on all the grounds.”

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said: “I’m extremely pleased with today’s outcome. The NFU has played an active role in this case, and we have been working hard to ensure that our members’ interests have been represented to the Court.

“The emergency authorisation mechanism is crucial for Member States to have. The NFU has been urging governments at an EU and domestic level to look to sound science as a basis for restrictions on plant protection products as part of the Healthy Harvest campaign.

“Throughout the application process and in our representations in this case the NFU has sought to approach what can be a highly charged issue in a sober, balanced manner that looks after the interests of growers while respecting the needs of the wildlife that uses farm crops as habitat.”

NFU combinable crops board chairman Mike Hambly said: “The NFU has fought for many months for its members who are struggling to establish oilseed rape crops in areas of high cabbage stem flea beetle pressure. Since restrictions on neonicotinoid use were put in place in December 2013, the damage caused by this pest has been a widespread problem. The seed treatment provides an efficient and targeted solution.”

Reacting to the decision, Friends of the Earth bee campaigner Dave Timms said: “It’s extremely disappointing that our application to challenge the Government’s decision to allow the use of banned, bee-harming pesticides has been turned down. We believe this ruling is flawed, ignores important facts and gives too much credibility to pesticide industry evidence to support the use of its own products. We are now considering an appeal.

“Our legal challenge has revealed fundamental flaws with the decision-making process for these emergency authorisations, which was shrouded in secrecy until the government was forced to provide crucial papers to us.

“The Government’s decision was too dependent on evidence provided by the pesticide firms, who have a direct commercial interest in these chemicals and seeing the ban on neonicotinoids lifted.

“The Government must urgently address how it has handled its approval of the use of these chemicals or risk further undermining public confidence in its ability to safely regulate pesticides to protect bees and our environment.

The NFU successfully obtained the emergency authorisations in July of this year; however, in August, Friends of the Earth commenced judicial review proceedings in an attempt to overturn the Government’s decision.

Friends of the Earth challenged the Government’s July 2015 decision on pesticides because it believes it did not comply with EU law which sets out the conditions under which governments can grant emergency use of the restricted neonicotinoids. The environmental group had wanted to challenge the decision before the seeds were sown, but because of a number of delays outside of its control the application for judicial review was delayed.

The authorisations obtained by the NFU permitted seed treated with two neonicotinoid-based products to be planted over a limited part of the winter oilseed rape crop corresponding to 5% of the total national oilseed rape crop area, and targeted to areas of highest risk from cabbage stem flea beetle, a major pest of winter oilseed rape.