BeeLife Celebrates its 2024 General Assembly and Welcomes New Members

On February 16, BeeLife held its annual General Assembly in Wells, Austria, hosted by the Austrian Commercial Beekeepers Association. BeeLife members had a full day of updates, collaborative work, and fundamental decisions to make about the future of the umbrella organisation, which works to protect pollinators in the European Union through advocacy and solution-oriented projects.

BeeLife General Assembly Feb 2024, Wells, Austria

Among the most notable decisions held by the Assembly is the inclusion of three beekeeping associations as new members of BeeLife. Our community welcomes Rhineland-Palatinate Beekeepers Association, The German Professional Beekeepers Association (DBIB), and The Veneto Beekeepers Association in Italy as new full members of BeeLife. Additional membership requests are still under review and will be integrated in 2024. 

(Is your association interested in becoming a BeeLife member? Please submit a Membership Request Form on our website.)

New BeeLife members as of Feb 2024, approved during the General Assembly

During the Assembly, participants also got an overview of BeeLife's activities in 2023 according to its three pillars of work: Scientific Review, Advocacy, & Project Planning and Execution. BeeLife's activities are only possible thanks to the work of the core team and the active contributions of national members, who provide expertise, networking, and other extensive forms of support. The meeting was a new reminder that our strength is in numbers and that the core team and BeeLife members must strive to enhance collaborations and community-building.

Among the highlighted European dossiers on pollinator health that occupy BeeLife's efforts, these include:

• The Common Agricultural Policy,

• The European Citizens' Initiative Save Bees and Farmers,

• New Genomic Techniques (NGTs),

• Pesticide Regulation,

• The EU Pollinator Initiative,

• The Nature Restoration Law.

BeeLife also participated in various EU-funded Projects in 2023, some of which will continue in the coming years. These projects are:

• iPOL-ERA,

• The EU Pollinator Hub,

• B-THENET, and

• BeSafeBeeHoney.

2023 was also a highly active year for BeeLife's public relations and networking efforts. As has become tradition, BeeLife co-organised the EU Pollinator Week at the European Parliament (previously known as the EU Bee Week). This event brought representatives from various European and national institutions and sectors related to pollinators and beekeeping, including farmers, NGOs, and scientists.

More in-depth information on BeeLife's activities during 2023 is available in our recently published 2023 Activity Report.