In the face of landslide support in the European Parliament for a five-year phaseout of glyphosate, the executive branch of the EU dropped its proposal for a 10-year extension to the license for use of the weedkiller, said Reuters. Instead, the European Commission said it will seek a consensus – “the direction given is to strive to reach between five and seven years” – at a meeting today of the 28 EU nations.
Europe has debated the future of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, for two years without a lasting resolution. In June 2016, the EU decided on an 18-month extension, which expires at the end of this year, after rejecting a 15-year license. The WHO cancer agency classified glyphosate, the major ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, as “probably carcinogenic” in March 2015. Other chemical and food safety agencies have disagreed with that determination.
Members of the European Parliament approved the resolution, 355-204, for a phaseout ending in mid-December 2022. The resolution “will add pressure on the European Commission,” said news agency AFP. The AFP says today’s EU meeting is being held “as a row escalates over claims that U.S. agro giant Monsanto unduly influenced research into its weedkiller’s safety.” FERN looked into the way Monsanto influenced research scientists and regulators in this recent story.