Brussels, 09/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 December, 16 organisations mainly involved in environmental protection, submitted a petition to the European Commission signed by 135,733 European citizens calling for a ban on glyphosate, in spite of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) recently concluding that this controversial pesticide was “probably not carcinogenic” (see EUROPE 11443 and 11409).
This petition was handed into Michael Flueh, the director of the Pesticides Unit at DG Health at the European Commission.
Member state experts meeting on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December at the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed of the EU will discuss EFSA's conclusion on glyphosate. The question they will be discussing involves whether authorisation for glyphosate should be extended for another 10 years. The European Commission pointed out that the EU had until June 2016 to make a decision on its reauthorisation, in consultation with the member states.
The 16 organisations in question recall that the WHO and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen”. These organisations include: WeMove.EU, Campact.de, Corporate Europe Observatory, Ecologistas en Action, Fundación Alborada, Générations futures, Global2000, HEAL, Pesticide Action Network Europe, Skiftet, WECF and Wemos. The petition was submitted to the Commission with a box of glyphosate-contaminated apples. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)