Status: 10/14/2022 2:58 p.m
The deadline for the use of the controversial herbicide glyphosate in the EU expires in December, so whether or not to extend it must be decided. The responsible EU committee has now been determined.
Advocates of a temporary extension for the use of the controversial weed killer glyphosate have been hit hard. The responsible committee of the EU Commission has formally objected to the extension, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture announced.
However, the Commission can also decide on its own responsibility for a temporary extension, it said. She had previously spoken out in favor of a short-term extension. Germany abstained from the vote.
The environmental protection organization Greenpeace criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for this. “It’s a shame that Germany didn’t clearly vote against extending the approval at EU level,” said Greenpeace agricultural expert Christiane Huxdorff. This would also have been an important signal for other EU countries. There are better ways to keep field weeds in check than using the weed killer.
Deadline for glyphosate use expires
Glyphosate is currently authorized in the EU until December 15th. Among other things, the pesticide has been criticized for causing cancer. Manufacturer Bayer vehemently rejects this. A Bayer spokesman said: “We remain hopeful that the current glyphosate approval will eventually be extended.” This would allow enough time to complete the ongoing scientific assessment. Any other active substance that required such a temporary extension received it.
No more glyphosate in Germany from 2024
Germany itself no longer wants to allow the use of glyphosate from the beginning of 2024. The Ministry of Agriculture justified its position by saying that it did not want to stand in the way of the EU Commission carrying out a legally secure assessment of glyphosate. This is to ensure that a final decision on further approval of the drug will stand up in court.
On the other hand, the abstention was intended to show that the current delay is viewed critically. According to the information, this came about because numerous comments had been received from various stakeholders, which have yet to be evaluated.