Sources in the German Social Democrats (SPD) party have informed Sustainable Pulse on Thursday that the reduction in the use of glyphosate herbicides in Germany has been one of the key points in negotiatons to form a new German government.

Reuters also reported Thursday that negotiators from both Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Social Democrats (SPD) have agreed to reduce the use of the weed killer if a government is formed.

German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt recently admitted that he acted alone in ordering officials to vote in favor of renewing the controversial weedkiller glyphosate in Europe — without consulting Chancellor Angela Merkel. Schmidt’s move in November meant that a qualified majority of EU member states agreed to the European Commission’s proposal for the renewal of the approval of glyphosate for five years.