"The first step has been taken. What matters now is the concrete implementation. It is disappointing that the glyphosate ban is coming far too late. It sounds suspiciously like a hectic attempt to make good on promises of greater protection for insects shortly before the general election," commented Manuela Ripa, MEP for the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP). "In July last year, a report by the European Court of Auditors revealed the extent to which wild pollinators - the insects that are so essential to our survival - have been attacked by the use of pesticides in agriculture in recent years. Now the glyphosate phase-out is only three years away. We should have started much earlier to find compatible, cooperative solutions for nature, biodiversity and agriculture. It is very regrettable that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has blocked the phase-out of these dangerous chemicals for so long. Only now, when our biodiversity is on the verge of collapse and the excuses have become scarce, has action been taken."