MEPs call on EU not to renew authorisation of glyphosate herbicide

The European Parliament’s Environment Committee passed a motion for a resolution on March 22 that calls on the European Commission not to renew the authorisation of the herbicide substance glyphosate for another 15 years. There are serious concerns about the carcinogenicity and endocrine disruptive properties of the herbicide glyphosate, which is used in hundreds of farm, forestry, urban and garden applications.

The MEPs called on the Commission to request an independent review and disclose all the scientific evidence that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) used to assess glyphosate.

“The fact that we have to resort to a parliamentary objection shows that something has gone wrong in the decision process,” said MEP Pavel Poc (S&D, CZ), who drafted the motion for a resolution.

“Glyphosate has been classified as probably carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). While the industry claimed that the substance can be completely metabolised, it is now clear that glyphosate residues are everywhere: in the environment, in many products we consume every day, in our bodies,” he added.

Poc also said: “Will the European Commission and EFSA publish the studies on which their proposal is based? Why propose authorising glyphosate for another 15 years, the longest period possible? We need those studies to be made public, and we should wait until we have them. Any uncertainty must be avoided before proceeding with the approval of a substance that is so broadly used. That is how precautionary principle should be applied.”

The Environment Committee’s resolution will be put for a vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg next month.