EU Member States Say No to Glyphosate Again: 5 Year Authorization Fails
The Great Glyphosate Rebellion continued Thursday in the European Union, as EU member states refused to back the 5-year license renewal for glyphosate, the world’s most used herbicide.
November 9, 2017 | Source: Sustainable Pulse | by
The Great Glyphosate Rebellion continued Thursday in the European Union, as EU member states refused to back the 5-year license renewal for glyphosate, the world’s most used herbicide.
Fourteen countries voted in favor of the 5 year renewal for glyphosate, nine against, while five, including Germany, abstained from voting. This is an even worse result for the European Commission (EC) than the vote on their 10 year renewal proposal, which was refused on October 25th.
The EC 5-year renewal proposal could now be referred to an appeal committee, or alternatively the Commission could draw up a new proposal to be voted upon, which seems likely as France has already stated it will agree to a 3-year license renewal.
A qualified majority requires two conditions be met: that 55 percent of EU countries vote in favor, and that the proposal is supported by countries representing at least 65 percent of the total EU population.
“No qualified majority for glyphosate renewal in vote today, Luxembourg voted against renewal and prolongation. Good outcome for our health and environment!” said Luxembourg’s Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg on Twitter. Belgian Agriculture Minister Denis Ducarme confirmed the result.