With the mandate given by the College of Commissioners on Tuesday 24 October, the European Commission representative sounded out the member states, meeting on Wednesday 25 October in the standing committee of plants, animals, food and feed (PAFF), on possible re-authorisation of the glyphosate licence for a period of between five and seven years.
There will be no vote, on any option, at this stage, however. That was all the information the Commission would give after the committee meeting. It even refused to tell EUROPE whether or not it had already amended its initial proposal, seeking authorisation for a further period of ten years, or tabled a new proposal for a five- to seven-year period, in line with what it had announced following the European Parliament vote calling for glyphosate to be phased out and totally banned by 2022 (see EUROPE 11890).
“There was no vote at the end of the meeting. There were a number of options and opposition from some member states. The Commission took note of the position of each the delegations. It will take these into account and will shortly announce the date of the next committee meeting. The Commission will continue to work with the member states to reach a solution that enjoys as wide support as possible and that ensures a high level of protection for human health and the environment, in line with EU legislation and based on available scientific data”, was all Commission spokesperson Anka Paduraru would say.
A further meeting of the PAFF committee is expected to take place within the next two or three weeks.
One thing is certain: ten countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Sweden) have said that they would vote against a ten-year authorisation and two countries, Germany and Portugal, have said they would abstain. Sixteen countries will vote for a ten-year authorisation: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic and United Kingdom. In the certain knowledge that the qualified majority required will not be found (55% of countries representing 65% of the population of the EU), the Commission has decided not to schedule a vote.
When asked by the press if the proposal for authorisation for five to seven years had been well received and if there was a call to work on phasing out glyphosate, as Parliament wants, rather than renewing the licence without consideration of what is to happen afterwards, the Commission refused to reply.
If the institution is not keen to comment and is directing journalists to the 28 member states, it is because it intends to show clearly that the decision to be taken before 15 December – the date on which the current glyphosate licence expires – will be one where shared responsibility between the Commission and the member states will apply. Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andiukaitis has continued to repeat, and Commission spokesperson Maragaritis Schinas made clear after the meeting of the College, that this was a comitology decision.
On radio station France Inter on Wednesday morning, French Agriculture Minister Stéphane Travert confirmed that he would vote against ten-year authorisation and he said he would want to see “a reduction in the use of glyphosate without damaging the economic model”. A few hours later, the spokesperson for the French government announced that the country would be prepared to accept renewal of the licence for a period of four years.
Postponement of the votes delights glyphosate opponents. S&D Group MEPs Eric Andrieu (France) and Marc Tarabella (Belgium) who want a special committee to be set up to shed light on the Monsanto Papers and on the evaluation procedures used by EU agencies, were delighted by the “rejection of the (Commission’s initial) proposal”. “It’s a first step. The European Parliament and the 1.3 million citizens who signed the European citizens’ initiative are beginning to be heard!” they stated in a joint press release.
“The will and the solutions exist to manage the transition from an old, toxic and outdated agricultural model to sustainable, productive agriculture, able to meet the challenges to come. Turning a public health issue into a trial of strength and haggling over the number of years grace to be conceded to an industry and an agricultural model that are both change-averse is irresponsible”, stated Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France).
“The Commission failed for the fifth time in a row to get sufficient support from European governments to renew glyphosate’s licence. The tables are turning and unless the Commission backs a ban, it will continue to fail”, predicted Franziska Achterberg of the NGO Greenpeace. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)