|
 Glyphosate is used in many herbicides including Monsanto's Roundup,
despite a dispute between EU and U.N. agencies over whether it
causes cancer.
Experts from the EU's 28 member states will hold a closed-door
meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels to discuss a draft
proposal, seen by Reuters, to extend by nine years approval of the
herbicide.
Last month, European politicians advised that glyphosate should only
be approved for another seven years, rather than the 15 proposed by
the EU executive, and should not be used by the general public.
The European Commission said the new draft takes into account the
opposition and maintains the proposal to ban some products because
of the substances they combine with glyphosate, which could add to
risks.
It said the banned "list of co-formulants" includes POE-tallowamine
from glyphosate-containing pesticides.
"The common agreement remains that the attention must be focused on
co-formulants," a spokeswoman for the Commission said. "If need be,
they will lead to a review of the approval of the active substance."
An EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one
big member state maintained opposition to renewal, which the EU
executive says is needed to prevent a legal vacuum when the existing
authorization lapses at the end of June.
But Germany's conservatives (CDU) and their junior coalition
partner, the Social Democrats (SPD) cannot agree on a common
position. If the German government cannot reach agreement, it will
abstain from voting.
"It's proven that glyphosate has negative effects on the
environment. That needs to be fully taken into account for the
approval," Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, an SPD member,
told Reuters.
[to top of second column] |
"Given that there is still uncertainty about the health risks
associated with glyphosate, the SPD-led ministries will not agree to
the approval of glyphosate," she said. Agriculture Minister
Christian Schmidt, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) -
sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU)
- has, up until now, signaled that he would agree to the weed killer
being approved. Martin Haeusling, a German lawmaker for the Greens
in the European Parliament, said a qualified majority for the
approval was not certain if Germany abstained from voting.
Environmental campaigners have demanded a full ban on glyphosate.
"It is scandalous that the Commission is ramming through an EU
approval for glyphosate to be used with no restrictions, despite the
very serious concerns about the impact of this toxic substance on
public health and the environment," said Green member of European
Parliament and food safety spokesperson Bart Staes.
"Clearly banning glyphosate would be the responsible course of
action," he said.
(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels and Hans-Edzard
Busemann in Berlin; Writing by Michelle Martin and Alissa de
Carbonnel; Editing by Dominic Evans)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
