A proposal has been published today (Wednesday, September 20) by the European Commission to renew “the authorisation for the herbicide glyphosate”.
The proposal outlines that if member states agree, glyphosate use in the European Union would be allowed until 2033.
Glyphosate is a chemical substance used in a number of herbicide products and its use in Europe is currently approved until December 15, 2023, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
EU member states will discuss the proposal to renew the licence for glyphosate use this Friday and a follow up vote will be taken next month.
Previously the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, told the Dail last May that his department would “finalise its position on glyphosate taking into account EFSA’s and European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) scientific opinions and conclusions, as it does for all pesticide substances”.
However according to the action group, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) hundreds of independent scientific publications have shown that glyphosate use threatens “biodiversity, while others indicate that it is neurotoxic, causes DNA toxicity and is linked to cancer”.
Dr Angeliki Lysimachou, head of science and policy at PAN Europe, said: “The regulators are moving full speed without listening to citizens’ concerns and independent science. Industry interests clearly prevail over health and the environment.
“The EU pesticide law is violated and citizens across EU countries will be outraged by this news.”
PAN has claimed that a recent study by toxicologist experts showed that ECHA had “dismissed important carcinogenicity findings and neglected evidence that glyphosate induces oxidative stress, a recognised mechanism that can lead to cancer”.
It also said that EFSA had wrongfully relied on ECHA’s classification of glyphosate as ‘non-carcinogenic’.
PAN believes the new 10 year permit for glyphosate “would be a disaster for human health and the environment”.
“Overall, the proposal includes several non-legally binding suggestions to the member states, which are bound to fail to ensure a high level of protection for human health and biodiversity, as required by the EU law,” it said.