BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission approved on Thursday the extension for ten years of the use of glyphosate, the controversial active substance in Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller, after European Union (EU) member states failed to give a clear position on the subject.

“The Commission (…) in collaboration with EU member states will now renew the approval of glyphosate for a period of 10 years,” the European executive said in a statement.

Earlier, the 27 member states had failed for the second time in a month to find a consensus on the use of glyphosate, leaving it to the European Commission to decide.

A “qualified majority” of 15 countries representing at least 65% of the EU population was required to support or block the proposal.

When the EU last approved a license for glyphosate, the European bloc granted a five-year extension which is due to expire on December 15. EU countries had twice previously refused to support a ten-year period.

As in last month’s vote, France once again abstained, sparking criticism from several NGOs and associations.

“Once again, the European Commission prefers to side with the agrochemical lobbies rather than follow scientific advice, apply the precautionary principle and take responsibility for banning this pesticide,” writes Greenpeace in a statement.

“France’s abstention in this vote and its lack of courage are not acceptable.”

“TREASON”

In a joint press release, the NGOs Foodwatch and Générations Futures also criticized France’s abstention and denounced a “betrayal, unsurprisingly, of the promise made by the President of the Republic in 2017”.

Head of State Emmanuel Macron declared at the end of 2017 that the use of glyphosate would be banned in France within three years at the latest, before admitting that a total ban was “impossible”.

“France is not against the principle of renewing the molecule, but wants to quickly reduce its use and regulate the use of the molecule, to limit its impacts, and replace it with other solutions each time it is necessary. is possible,” the Ministry of Agriculture explained on Thursday.

The Peasant Confederation criticized in a press release a “scandalous decision” made “on the backs of the peasants”.

“Reauthorizing glyphosate is a monumental error. It ignores the reality that farmers are the first victims of pesticides, chemical and economic crutches,” writes the union.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research agency concluded in 2015 that glyphosate was likely carcinogenic to humans, but other agencies around the world, including the U.S. Agency for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), have classified glyphosate as non-carcinogenic.

Foodwatch and Générations Futures believe that the European Commission’s decision “once again goes against the precautionary principle as evidence of the danger of glyphosate for humans and the environment continues to accumulate.”

“Civil society organizations do not rule out legal action at European level,” they add.

(Philip Blenkinsop, with Sybille La Hamaide and Gus Trompiz, by Zhifan Liu, edited by Kate Entringer and Blandine Hénault)

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