The European Commission’s plan to temporarily extend the glyphosate sales license was thwarted Monday when France, Germany, and Italy abstained from voting on the proposal, leaving the commission short of the requisite population threshold for approval, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The license expires on June 30. Without an extension, the products containing the popular weedkiller will have to be taken off the market in Europe. The commission had proposed an extension of 12 to 18 months to allow the European Chemicals Agency time to assess conflicting scientific claims about glyphosate’s health effects on humans. In March 2015, the WHO cancer agency classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic” to humans, setting off global controversy about the chemical. Late last month, a report by WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization said glyphosate “is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet.”
The commission, the administrative arm of the EU, will discuss how to react to the setback at its weekly meeting today. “A commission spokesman declined to say whether the commission plans to simply approve” the extension, the Journal reported. A commission spokesman said: “Member States should take their own responsibilities and not try to hide behind the commission.”
“Glyphosate is a significant profit driver for Missouri-based Monsanto, which Bayer AG of Germany is currently trying to take over,” the Journal said. “But glyphosate is also an important ingredient in other widely used weedkillers.”