Brussels, 24/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - Friday 24 June 2016, an ill-starred day for European Commission hopes: the United Kingdom voted for Brexit and, after it proved impossible to achieve a sufficient majority, the EU member states have still come to no decision on glyphosate, leaving it up to the Commission to make a decision on its own.
Six days before the expiry of the glyphosate licence, the fate to be reserved for this controversial weedkiller which the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer said in March 2015 was probably carcinogenic for humans but which the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded in November 2015 probably was not, has yet to be decided in the EU (see EUROPE 11578).
The representatives of the member states, meeting in the appeal committee, failed on Friday to gather the qualified majority needed either to approve or reject the Commission proposal to extend for up to as maximum of 18 months - until the end of 2017 - the glyphosate licence, until the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) delivers its ruling on the toxicity of this active substance, in particular its carcinogenicity and its endocrine disrupting properties (see EUROPE 11563).
The outcome was a foregone conclusion because, since the inconclusive vote on 6 June, no changes had been brought to the proposal on which the experts on the committee on plants, animals, food and feed (PAFF committee) had already failed to come to a decision. On 6 June, 20 countries voted for the proposal, seven abstained (Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal) and Malta voted against.
Only France and Bulgaria change position. France, one of those which abstained, voted against the proposal this time, as French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal had announced at the Environment Council on 20 June, having called on the Commission to come up with something new on endocrine disruptors (see EUROPE 11576). Bulgaria, which voted for the proposal last time, abstained this time.
It will, therefore, be left to the Commission to take the decision itself - a scenario that it wanted to avoid at all costs so as not bear full responsibility. Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, who had, for this very reason, often urged the member states to assume their responsibilities and not to hide behind the Commission, will report back to the College of Commissioners on the situation on Monday 27 June.
“The Commission regret that no decision could be taken by the Member States, in spite of its efforts over recent weeks to accommodate requests and concerns from a number of national governments, as well as from the European Parliament”, stated a Commission spokesperson in a press release. Andriukaitis will also discuss “the next steps” to be taken with the Commission. Given the little time remaining, it does not take a genius to work out what these will be.
Unless there is some completely unforeseen development, the Commission will itself make the decision to authorise the temporary extension of the licence, possibly using the written procedure, a European source has said. It has already been decided that, at the next meeting of the PAFF committee, on 27-28 June), two proposals for supplementary decision will be put to the member states' experts: one will seek to ban the coformulant POE tallowamine and the other to recommend to member states that care be taken in the use of glyphosate in public parks and gardens and in the pre-harvest period.
On 20 May, France withdrew 132 products containing glyphosate in association with the coformulant POE tallowamine, the toxicity of which has been proved.
Insult added to injury for Europe. Parliament is in turmoil. “Member state representatives have decided not to decide. An umpteenth attempt has brought an umpteenth failure when the health of European citizens is at stake”, raged Marc Tarabella (S&D, Belgium), his group's spokesman for consumer protection and agriculture. He pointed out that this potentially carcinogenic weedkiller is present in most everyday drinks and food stuffs. “It's difficult not to say, what with the UK and European news this Friday, that there are a great many things that need to be changed in the European decision-making process and in the way the institutions operate”, he added. This he said is “another sleight for Europe”.
Hypocrisy of member states. Michèle Rivasi (France) deputy leader of the Greens/EFA Group slammed “the unprecedented hypocrisy of the member states”. “The member states have pushed their responsibilities onto the Commission which is going to have to take ultimate responsibility. Our latest information confirms that the Commission, which tends generally to keep the chemicals industry lobby happy, is likely to go for renewal of the licence”, she regretted.
Call for “glyphoexit”. Greenpeace believes that the time has come for the Commission to prepare an glyphosate exit plan. “The Commission is about to give glyphosate an unreasonable grace period, which will continue to leave people and nature exposed to the controversial weedkiller. It should use this time to draw up a glyphosate exit plan. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in Europe and has been linked to serious health concerns and loss of wildlife”, said Franziska Achterberg, Greenpeace EU food policy director.
This further delay on the decision is causing concern among European farmers who have been calling for approval to be renewed for 15 years, in line with the Commission's initial proposal (see EUROPE 11578). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)