Critics and supporters of the weed killer glyphosate have long been arguing about the potential dangers of the drug. Now there is a potentially decisive vote at the EU level.
Representatives of the EU states will vote this afternoon on renewing the approval of the controversial weed killer glyphosate. The EU Commission had suggested that glyphosate could be used in the EU until the end of 2033 – the active ingredient is still approved in the EU until mid-December.
In the so-called Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (ScoPAFF), the EU Commission needs a qualified majority for its proposal. Otherwise, further negotiations must take place in an appeals committee. A qualified majority requires the consent of at least 55 percent of the EU states, which also represent at least 65 percent of the EU population.
Data gaps in several areas
At the end of July, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a study on glyphosate in which it found no unacceptable risks, but found data gaps in several areas. In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is clearly against an extension. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) justifies this by saying that it cannot be ruled out that glyphosate harms biodiversity.
There is opposition from the ranks of the government partner FDP. FDP parliamentary group vice-president Carina Konrad, for example, is campaigning for continued use of the drug. The traffic light parties’ coalition agreement, however, states: “We will take glyphosate off the market by the end of 2023.”
Not a sufficient majority
Yesterday the EU Commission’s proposal was already discussed in the EU Committee of Experts. According to information from the German Press Agency, there was not yet a sufficient majority for the Commission’s proposal.
A representative survey by the Ipsos Institute on behalf of the glyphosate-critical organization Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe showed that citizens tend to view glyphosate critically. When asked which statement came closest to their own, almost 70 percent in Germany answered that its use should be banned. A good 15 percent said the active ingredient should continue to be used.
Source: Stern
