Beekeepers, consumer advocates and environmental groups will gather outside nine agriculture ministries across Europe on Thursday May 9 to hand in a petition signed by over 220,000 people.

They will be demanding that the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed implements bee-friendly pesticide standards in a vote at the EU on World Bee Day (May 20).

The protest events aim to draw the attention of decision-makers and compel them to listen to citizens across Europe.

The vote on World Bee Day is to determine pesticide testing standards. Last year, the EU banned three bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides using the Bee Guidance pesticide testing standards. However, these high standards are not yet universal in European pesticide testing. The organisations are arguing that they must become standard. Otherwise, other equally bee harming pesticides will be tested to a lower standard and pass, simply replacing the banned bee-killing neonicotinoids with other equally harmful pesticides.

The organisations involved include SumOfUs (Europe-wide), Greenpeace Netherlands, The Pollinators (Netherlands), Latvijas Dabas fonds (Latvia), Romapis (Romania), Romanian Ornithological Society (Romania), WWF Romania, Buglife (UK), Foundation for Environment and Agriculture (Bulgaria), Slow Food Europe (Italy) and the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations, Ireland.

The protests will take place outside of nine separate European Agriculture Ministries on Thursday, 9 May at 11:00 including

at the Seacole Building in London

.

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