The President of the ČZS and EBA, Noč Boštjan, and Dr. Urška Ratajc, Head of the EBA Scientific Committees, met yesterday with MEP Thomas Waitz from Austria.
He represents the Greens in the European Parliament—and he’s also a beekeeper! We asked for his support of the EBA, especially in the fight against counterfeit honey and in our joint effort to have bees officially recognized as invaluable pollinators. Europe must acknowledge that without beekeepers, bees cannot survive. Therefore, beekeepers should receive financial support—not only for their essential beekeeping work but also for providing the free pollination service that contributes to more than 30% of the world’s food production and helps preserve biodiversity. We also highlighted the issue of the decreasing number of honey plants available for bees and other pollinators. We proposed the idea of a European Honey Plant Planting Day and asked for his support. In addition, we requested his help in getting beekeeping included on the agenda of the AGRI Committee, and in incorporating beekeeping initiatives into EU environmental programmes. Mr. Waitz expressed strong support for European beekeepers. We are fortunate to have an MEP who is not only knowledgeable about the challenges we face—but who also shares our passion as a fellow beekeeper. He was very supportive of our proposals and emphasized several important points, including challenges in the honey market, issues related to pesticides, and the need for stronger forest protection. We have agreed to meet again on 20 May in Brussels for further constructive discussion. We also invited him to celebrate World Bee Day on May 24th in Slovenia. It’s clear that Mr. Waitz understands and supports us! https://thomaswaitz.eu/language/en/
