The EU is tightening the screws on neonicotinoid-based pesticides (neonics), extending its restrictions on outdoor use of three crop protectants suspected of harming bees to include thiacloprid, the active ingredient in BayerCropScience’s insecticides sold under the brand names Calypso and Biscayne.

On Oct. 22, the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF), which advises the European Council, adopted a draft rule that would add thiacloprid to the list of now four neonics farmers may not use to treat plants and cereals attractive to bees. The other three products, on the list since 2013, are clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam.

At the Standing Committee’s October session, a majority of the – unidentified – member state representatives backed the tighter regulation of neonics agreed in April of this year.

The European Commission said it would adopt final rules on placing thiacloprid on the list later this year. This would permanently end the authorization for the insecticide ingredient in the selected applications. The world’s largest agrochemicals player had pushed for a continued exemption.

Switzerland-based, Chinese-owned agrochemicals group Syngenta also produces neonics. The group spoke out against the restrictions in April.

Across Europe, 383,000 people had signed a petition urging EU member states not to renew the license for the “cancer-linked, and bee harming, neonicotinoid pesticide thiacloprid,” the environmental pressure group SumOfUS said on its website.

Thiacloprid is already banned in France, which has repeatedly been at the forefront of efforts to reduce human exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals, including glyphosate and bisphenol A.

In its evaluation of 1,500 studies on bee health The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has said it found evidence that foraging bees are exposed to harmful levels of pesticide residues – in particular those of the three identified neonics – in pollen and nectar of treated fields and contaminated areas nearby, as well as in drifting dust.

At the Commission’s behest, EFSA is in the process of conducting a second stakeholder consultation to support the review of its guidance on pesticides and bees. A dedicated group of scientists has been selected to advise on the protocol the agency will use to collect and evaluate data on bee mortality.

A full public consultation and workshop is scheduled to take place when the guidance document has been drafted, EFSA said