EU Commission wants curbs on pesticides to protect bees "We are requesting member states suspend for two years the use of this pesticide on seeds, granulates and sprays for crops which attract bees," Commission health spokesman Frederic Vincent told a briefing. The Commission had presented its proposal to member states and was waiting for their response. Fears over the effects on bees led France to ban Syngenta's Cruiser OSR for rapeseed in June last year. Syngenta said at the time it would appeal against that decision. A sharp fall in bee populations around the world in recent years, partly due to a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, has prompted criticism of pesticide use. But the EFSA report found no link between use of the pesticides and colony collapse, which has seen bee populations fall rapidly across Europe and North America. Syngenta defended its products in full-page advertisements published in two major French newspapers on Thursday, saying they were fully respectful of the environment and that none of the allegations had been proven when used in open fields. "As of today no clear correlation has been established between the use of these products and the decline in colonies," Syngenta's chairman Martin Taylor wrote in an open letter to the French farm minister. In a separate statement on Thursday, Syngenta said the Commission's call for restrictions would spell "a significant loss to farmers and the economy," adding that bee populations were primarily under threat from diseases and poor nutrition. France is the largest crop producer in the European Union. Additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Martin de Sa'Pinto in Zurich; editing by Rex Merrifield