A chemical implicated in the recent rapid decline of bee numbers has been banned by the EU despite the objections of the UK government.

Local Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has been campaigning for neonicotinoids to be banned since evidence first started being reported that the controversial pesticide could be causing bee colonies to die.

15 EU governments today voted in favour of a ban – not enough to impose one but enough to throw the decision to the EU Commission which is likely to announce a two year ban while more research is carried out.

The UK government voted against – and Davies slammed Ministers for bowing to pressure from big business.

Chris said, “There is enough evidence that neonicotinoids could be causing the catastrophic decline in bee numbers to warrant at least a temporary suspension in their use.

“Bees and other wild pollinators are worth over £100 million per year to the UK agricultural sector and we can’t keep taking risks with crop production like this.”

The United Kingdom has today been a member of the European Union for 40 years.

Tameside Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies says that EU membership has helped to maintain British influence in a fast-changing world.

“We applied to join late because politicians realised that Britain was being left behind and losing influence.  The EU remains for now the largest trading bloc in the world and I believe the UK has contributed a great deal to make it more prosperous.”

Chris says that membership of the European Union has boosted British trade and helped create more jobs than ever before.  He points to its achievements in promoting peace, democracy and human rights.

“Twenty-five years ago some of our closest partners were still communist dictatorships within the Soviet Union.  We were fearful of the future and spending a fortune on defending ourselves from a real threat of attack.  The contrast with today could hardly be greater.”

The MEP claimed that few people can name more than one or two EU rules that they would like to have repealed.  Rules and regulations have improved our environment and made life better and safer for the majority.

He said: “There are many things I want to change, but that’s true of rules made in London as well as those from Brussels.

“I want the EU to be a stronger force for good on the world stage.  The challenge for the future is to maintain our influence in a world with power moving towards China and many other fast-developing countries.”

Radical reforms to Europe’s common fisheries policy won strong support from MEPs today.

MEPs gave stronger than expected support to radical reforms to EU fishing policy today, voting to end the discard of perfectly edible fish and take steps to rebuild depleted fish stocks.

In a series of votes on 2500 amendments MEPs followed the lead of Tameside MEP Chris Davies, founder of the cross party ‘Fish for the Future’ group of Euro-MPs in 2010.

Davies has been campaigning for reform of the controversial Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) since being re-elected in 2009 and today’s votes marked a significant milestone in ending the practice of discarding fish, dead, into the sea just because they are over quota.

Chris said, “We have been throwing perfectly edible fish overboard while fish stocks have dropped and dropped over the last few decades.

“Meanwhile Fisheries Ministers from across the EU have met every December, listened to scientific advice, and then ignored it by setting fishing quotas far too high for fish to survive.

“With this reform in place we should finally see the number and size of fish start to recover above minimum levels and back to a level where the fishing industry is viable again.”

MEPs were voting during a once in a decade chance to change the law underpinning fishing policy across the 27 state EU.

The legislation will now need to be ratified by the entire European Parliament, prior to detailed negotiations between MEPs and Fisheries Ministers from the 27 EU countries.

Chris Davies MEP

British inventors are set to benefit from the successful outcome of a 40 year EU battle on patent laws.

Businesses applying for patents currently need to have their application translated into 23 different languages to protect their rights in 25 EU countries.

But Euro-MPs this week gave their backing to a new patent law that will allow inventors to apply in just one language and get protection across the EU. The new unitary patents will be processed in English, French or German but can be submitted in any of the 23 official EU languages.

The new law will reduce the costs of an EU wide patent by 80% with costs of translation no longer being met by the inventors. Costs will fall to _2380 during a short transition period and then _680 after that.

Patent costs in the USA and Japan are significantly lower than in the EU making manufacturing in those countries more competitive.

Chris Davies, Lib Dem Euro-MP for Tameside said, “This is exactly what the EU should be doing, making it easier and cheaper for businesses across Europe to develop new products and promote innovation.

“Manufacturing industry in the North needs to be on a level playing field with international competitors.

“If we are going to grow our way out of the current financial difficulties we need to make things and export them and this will help.”

Davies criticised UKIP MEPs who voted against the new patent law. “UKIP has shown again that its obsessive hatred of the idea of European cooperation puts jobs at risk. Its MEPs let down small and medium sized businesses and our great Universities by voting against this measure.

“Money that is currently being wasted on translating patents can now be used for more research and most importantly to create jobs. A widget made in Tameside today can be sold in Bulgaria tomorrow without the fear it will be copied.”