The European Commission, with one member for each of the EU nations, could meet as early as today to decide on a short-term extension of EU approval of use of glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, said Farmers Weekly, based in Britain. An EU appeals committee failed to reach as qualified majority — meaning support by 55 percent of EU members with 65 percent of the population — at the end of last week, with approval for the chemical to expire on Thursday.
The vote by the appeals committee marked the second time this month that EU nations rejected an extension of EU approval. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup weedkiller made by Monsanto.
“The most likely scenario now is that the college of 28 commissioners will make a decision on the extension. While the Commission was generally in favor of renewing the glyphosate authorization, this cannot be guaranteed,” said Irish Farmers Journal. The Farmers Weekly, which cited the EU health commissioner as saying the commission would meet today to discuss next steps, said, “The commission is expected to push through the temporary relicensing of glyphosate.”
An umbrella group of EU farm organizations, Copa-Cogeca, urged re-approval of glyphosate this week. The weedkiller is an important tool in no-till farming, which reduces erosion, said the group and without it, “farmers’ competitiveness would be put at risk and EU food production threatened as no alternatives exist.” The UK-based Soil Association, an organic certification body, said “many farmers” support a ban on pre-harvest use of glyphosate and the association called for a ban on use of glyphosate in public areas, such as parks and playgrounds.
Debate over glyphosate sharpened following a WHO agency classification of the weedkiller as probably carcinogenic to humans. Glyphosate is used in combination with GMO crops, so some critics see the debate as a lever against genetic engineering.