EU delays vote on glyphosate’s renewal issue

Health experts from European Union countries [were] expected to discuss whether or not to extend the license for herbicide glyphosate at a meeting starting on October 5, but will only vote on the issue later this year.
 

Europe has been debating for two years whether to allow glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s Roundup, with no clear majority of countries for or against a license extension and concerns that it is carcinogenic.
 

The EU granted an 18-month extension in July 2016 pending further scientific study after failing to agree on a proposed 15-year license renewal.
 

The European Chemical Agency concluded in March that glyphosate, one of the world’s most heavily used weed killers, should not be classified as causing cancer.
 

The European Commission is now proposing a 10-year extension, but said this will only pass if supported by a clear majority of member states. The standing committee on plant animal food and feed (PAFF), meeting on last Thursday and Friday, had been expected to vote on the license for glyphosate but that vote will not now take place.