If the Commission agrees, glyphosate will be permitted for use for a further 7 years, pending additional studies on the weedkiller accused of being carcinogenic.
The European Parliament has called on the Commission to renew the authorisation for the sale of glyphosate (one of the most widely used herbicides in the world) for a further seven years (instead of 15) and to restrict its use to professional activities only.
This, in summary, is the content of the resolution approved on 13 April in Brussels.
The document approved by the Parliament is not binding on the European Commission, which has delayed as long as possible its decision on this substance suspected of being carcinogenic and of interfering with the endocrine system. The most recent delay came less than two months ago, precisely because of the growing opposition of public opinion in member states; we covered it here.
The question of glyphosate's danger to human health has by now become an issue debated for years. The weedkiller has been classified as "probably carcinogenic" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Iarc). The European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), however, reached the opposite conclusion — although its report has been accused of being substantially based on a previous German study funded by weedkiller manufacturers.
The resolution calls for the substance to be given the green light "for professional uses only" for a further 7 years (rather than 15, as is standard), urging the EU Commission to "launch an independent review of the overall toxicity [of glyphosate] […], based not only on data relating to carcinogenicity, but also on possible endocrine-disrupting properties". The MEPs further urge the Commission and the European Food Safety Authority to "immediately disclose all the scientific evidence underlying the positive classification of glyphosate".
In practice, very little actually changes: glyphosate-based products should no longer be sold to those without a professional agricultural licence, and their use as a weedkiller on roadsides, public parks and gardens could be banned. However, agriculture will be able to continue spraying it freely on our fields — unless they are organically farmed.