Brussels, 28/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - In the two days that are left until the licence for glyphosate in the EU expires - most likely this Wednesday 29 June - the Commission will make a formal decision to extend this licence by a maximum of 18 months, to give the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) time to take position on the toxicity of this highly controversial total herbicide.
“The written procedure was launched today and a decision to extend the current authorisation of glyphosate until no later than 31 December 2017 could be adopted and announced tomorrow”, a Commission spokesperson announced in a press release issued on the evening of Tuesday 28 June, confirming that it is no longer an open secret (see EUROPE 11580).
Earlier that day, the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, announced on the sidelines of the Agriculture Council in Luxembourg that he felt the Commission had no choice but to make this decision. In response to a question put by a journalist, he said: “of course the Commission will follow our legal obligation. We have a deadline of 30 June. The Commission will adopt the extension of the authorisation for glyphosate for 18 months”.
The decision will be adopted by written procedure, as no meetings of the College of Commissioners are scheduled before 30 June.
The experts of the member states meeting in the standing committee on plants, animals, food and feed (PAFF committee) on Monday 21 June did not give their blessing to the two complementary proposed decisions of the Commission regarding the ban on the co-formulant POE tallowamine (a toxic additive present in the finished product to activate the active substance glyphosate) and the recommendations to the member states to be vigilant to minimise the use of glyphosate in parks and gardens and during pre-harvest periods, as the qualified majority could not be reached.
Speaking to the press, the Commissioner expressed his astonishment at this. “Let me say my huge surprise that member states could not adopt yesterday these measures of health protection”, he said.
It is worth noting that the authorisation at European level for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Round Up, does not prevent the member states from banning its use at national level. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)