The European Commission's proposal to renew the authorisation of glyphosate, the highly controversial total herbicide, for a further ten years in the EU has a good chance of being approved.
And for good reason: a qualified majority against the proposal would be required to cause it to be rejected. For the time being, however, Germany, which intends to ban glyphosate on its soil by the end of 2023, is the only EU Member State determined to vote against this proposal. This opposition had already been announced in the comments provided by 17 Member States to the Commission following publication of the draft report in July.
The German Federal Ministry of Agriculture confirmed this on Saturday, the day after the meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (ScoPAFF), at which the Commission presented its proposal to the Member States. It cited insufficient measures to prevent “damage to biodiversity” and the lack of harmonised provisions for restrictions/recommendations to Member States (see EUROPE 13254/1, 13255/15).
France, which at one time wanted to ban glyphosate, in line with a commitment made in 2017, is now in favour of extending its authorisation.
The European Commission, which is referring to the favourable conclusions of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which has still not classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, is convinced that “its proposal is the right one and is ready to help the Member States” to reach a decision that is satisfactory for everyone, as Stefan de Keersmaecker, the Commission's spokesman for health and food safety, pointed out on Friday.
Some countries, such as Belgium, have not yet decided on their position. The vote is scheduled for 13 October at Scopaff. It should be remembered that it will be up to the Member States to decide whether or not to authorise products containing the active substance glyphosate on their territory.
The Commission's proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/8qa (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)