AN EU ban on pesticides believed to kill bees will mean "significant costs" for British farmers, the UK Government has warned.
Both the UK and Scottish Governments had called for a two-year delay on implementing the ban while further scientific evidence about the danger to bees could be gathered.
Mr Borg said: "I pledge to do my utmost to ensure that our bees, which are so vital to our ecosystem and contribute more than £18.5 billion annually to European agriculture, are protected."
Scottish Government Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead had faced criticism from bee experts after calling for two more years of research, saying the science in support of a ban was "not clear-cut".
UK Environment Minister Lord de Mauley pledged to "work with farmers to cope with the consequences as a ban will carry significant costs for them".
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