EU Commission announces approval of Glyphosate for another ten years

The EU Commission has announced a reauthorization of the weed killer Glyphosate for another ten years. Representatives of the member states were unable to reach a common position on Brussels' proposal on Thursday. According to current EU law, the Commission can therefore decide on its own.

Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Green Party) announced that he would now examine the national implementation of the Commission's decision. Glyphosate is "anything but uncontroversial," he said in Berlin. The minister had originally wanted to let the approval expire and had previously appealed to the EU Commission to take the "signal" from the member states seriously.

On the other hand, the agricultural policy spokesperson for the FDP in the Bundestag, Gero Hocker, welcomed the decision of the EU Commission as a "victory for environmental protection and agriculture." Due to the disagreement within the German government, Germany abstained from the negotiations.

According to the proposal of the EU Commission, the use of Glyphosate in the EU will be allowed until 2033, but the use of the weed killer will be subject to conditions in the future. Among other things, farmers are required to maintain buffer strips of at least five meters. Member states should also be able to limit the quantity and frequency of the use of the substance.

Environmental organizations called on the authority to withdraw its draft. "It is not acceptable that the Commission, in the face of the numerous health effects of the substance, still insists on its proposal," said Natacha Cingotti of the Health and Environment Alliance. Greenpeace called it a "black day for biodiversity." The EU is sacrificing the protection of human, environmental, and biodiversity to the economic interests of agribusiness.

Glyphosate can harm the environment and is suspected of being carcinogenic. Consumer and environmental organizations have been protesting against the use of the weed killer for years.

Worldwide, Glyphosate is the most widely used ingredient in pesticides, especially in herbicides like Bayer's Roundup. The company welcomed the Commission's decision for reauthorization. This means that "an important technology" remains available to farmers in the EU.

On the other hand, the Green MEP Jutta Paulus stated that the Commission did not receive clear support for reauthorization from the EU countries. Therefore, the substance must "finally disappear from the market."

According to diplomatic sources, besides Germany, six other member countries, including France and the Netherlands, abstained on Thursday. Austria, Luxembourg, and Croatia opposed reauthorization. Thus, in the Appeals Committee, there was neither a majority for the Commission's proposal nor against it.

A decision among the member states requires a so-called qualified majority. At least 15 of the 27 member states must agree, making up at least 65 percent of the population. The votes of populous EU countries such as Germany and France carry more weight. After a deadlock in the Appeals Committee, EU law stipulates that the Commission decides on its own. The current authorization for Glyphosate expires on December 15.

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