Archive Article: 2001/02/09
EURO-BRIEFS
uRADICAL French farmers union, the Confederation Paysanne, has made significant gains on the influential Chambres dAgriculture, which oversee farm policy at local level and have serious lobbying powers nationally. The union, led by renowned anti-GM campaigner and French nationalist, Jose Bove, won 27% of the seats in last weeks election compared with 20% in 1995. Mainstream union, the FNSEA, saw its share slip from 57% to 52%
uFRANCE has extended a ban on the use of pesticide Gaucho on sunflower seeds for another two years, while it does more studies into its effect on bees. Honey-makers claim it confuses their bees, which are unable to find their hives, dubbing the condition "mad bee disease". Manufacturer, Bayer, believes there are other causes of the declining bee population. But the Confederation Paysanne, has accused government of putting the ag-chem industry ahead of the environment, by failing to ban the active ingredients, imidaclopride and Fipronil.
uTHE incidence of BSE continued to climb on the Continent this week. Spain confirmed five new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 17 since the first casualties were announced last November. Germany has now reached 27, with the latest found in Schleswig-Holstein, while France has reported 24 BSE-infected animals so far the year. Austria, however, remains BSE-free, despite testing 12,000 animals. *