Glyphosate: Austria will vote against new EU approval

The reason for this is a decision that the SPÖ, FPÖ and the Greens made in the EU subcommittee of the National Council in 2017, as the Ministry of Agriculture told the APA on Monday. However, a qualified majority is sufficient for EU-wide approval.

Glyphosate is approved throughout the EU until December 15th. The EU Commission has already recommended further approval. According to the published proposal, the drug should be used in the EU for another ten years. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) viewed re-approval uncritically in its last assessment.

Austria will not follow the recommendation and will vote against new approval in the expert committee at EU level. The reason for this is a bit old: in October 2017, a corresponding resolution was passed in Parliament’s EU subcommittee at the initiative of the Greens. SPÖ and FPÖ joined the motion, ÖVP and NEOS spoke out against it. The crux of the matter: The decision required the respective agriculture ministers to vote against the extension of approval at EU level even beyond the legislative period at the time. However, it is not very likely that Austria will prevent EU-wide use, as a qualified majority is sufficient for new approval.

Although Austria cannot single-handedly suspend the use of glyphosate, a partial ban was passed in the National Council in 2021. Since then, it has no longer been allowed to be used in sensitive places such as children’s playgrounds, parks, geriatric care facilities or health facilities. House and allotment areas and private use are also affected. However, it remained permitted in agriculture, where it is by far used the most.

Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide and was developed by the US company Monsanto, which was taken over by the German pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals group Bayer. With the purchase, Bayer also received a wave of lawsuits because of the alleged carcinogenic effects of glyphosate. Authorities worldwide, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Chemicals Agency, have classified the herbicide as not carcinogenic – a view that many environmental NGOs disagree with.

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