On November 17, 2023, following the European Commission's announcement of its decision to renew the registration of glyphosate for a further ten years, the coalition of NGO “Secrets toxiques” announced its intention to lodge an action for annulment against the renewal decision with the General Court of the European Union.

Under Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), an action for annulment allows a legal person such as an association to ask the european courts to annul an act taken by an institution of the European Union by which it is directly and individually concerned.

In this case, the coalition of applicant associations claims that the evaluations on which the Commission based its assessment of the dangerousness of glyphosate were flawed, in particular in that they did not allow for an overall assessment of the toxicity of glyphosate-based products, as co-formulants were not taken into account.

The associations also criticize the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for not really taking into account the long-term effects of glyphosate on human health in its assessment, and for basing its assessment of the substance's toxicity on partial studies supplied by glyphosate producers. What's more, certain more independent and impartial academic studies were not taken into account.

The action for annulment has not yet been officially lodged with the General Court. The deadline for doing so is two months after the adoption of the Commission's decision.