The Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health (an EU Council body) met today on the topic of glyphosate, which is getting very hot.

Despite a new proposal from the European Commission (EC) for a renewal of the authorization of glyphosate from 5 to 7 years instead of 10 years, as proposed initially, it has failed to gather a qualified majority in favor of the proposal (Germany and Portugal abstained on 10 years, 16 countries supported this proposal and France, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden rejected it).

In consequence, the Commission has not called for a vote at the meeting and postponed it until November 6.

“After yesterday’s vote in the European Parliament calling for an organized phase-out of glyphosate in the EU and following this latest failure by the Commission on a proposal that does not plan a glyphosate interdiction, it is clear that France has a key role to play in Europe and must support a proposal for a quick ban of this herbicide that has been classified as a probable carcinogen by IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), ” F. Veillerette, spokesperson for Générations Futures, declared.

“A ban is the kind of proposal that European citizens are waiting for, as evidenced by the success of the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) on this issue and it is the only decision that can protect public health and our environment. Our expectations from the French government are therefore extremely high on this issue.”