Environmental activist ClientEarth sues Germany over pesticides use

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Environmental activist charity ClientEarth launched a lawsuit against Germany on Friday to push Berlin to implement an EU law to limit pesticide use in farming, the group said on Friday.

The group said in a statement Germany was not complying with the 2009 Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive. The EU law should have been in force across the 27-member by 2011, but the reality has been patchy implementation, the group said.

Insect populations are in decline globally and bee populations - a vital pollinator - are shrinking, which could threaten global food security. Pesticides are a known contributor to these declines.

The European Commission tried to introduce a new law in 2022, the Sustainable Use Regulation, to replace the directive. The regulation aimed to halve pesticide use by 2030 but the proposal was scrapped earlier this year after widespread farmers' protests.

The regulation would have been much stronger than the previous directive with binding and directly applicable rules.

The suit was filed in the Higher Administrative court of Berlin-Brandenburg against the German government and the ministry of food and culture.

(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Aurora Ellis)