Glyphosate EU review results! Another 10 years!

On November 16, the EU member states voted for a second time on the issue of glyphosate renewal, and the vote was the same as the previous one: no "qualified majority" was obtained.



Earlier, on 13 October 2023, the EU institutions failed to give a decisive opinion on a proposal to extend the approval period for the use of glyphosate by 10 years because the proposal, whether adopted or not, would require the support or opposition of a "qualified majority" of 15 countries representing at least 65% of the EU's population. Neither opinion received a qualified majority in the vote by the Commission, which is made up of 27 EU member states.



In accordance with the relevant legal requirements of the European Union, the failure of this vote, the European Commission (EC) has the right to make a final decision on this renewal, the European Commission based on the joint safety evaluation results of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Regulatory Agency (ECHA). The active ingredient was not found to have a critical area of concern, so a 10-year renewal of glyphosate's registration was authorized.


Why do you approve a 10-year renewal period instead of a 15-year renewal period:



Glyphosate authorization is renewed for 10 years, not because of safety evaluation issues, but because the current approval of glyphosate will expire on December 15, 2023, which is the result of a five-year extension that has been granted on an exceptional basis. Glyphosate was fully evaluated between 2012 and 2017. Given that the compliance of the approval criteria has already been verified twice, the Commission will opt for a 10-year renewal period, believing that no significant new scientific safety assessment methodology changes will occur in the near future.



Eu national autonomy in this decision:



Eu Member States remain responsible for the national registration of preparations containing glyphosate. According to EU regulations, there is a two-step procedure for introducing crop protection products to the market:



First, approval of the original drug at EU level.

Secondly, each Member State evaluates and authorizes the registration of preparations in its own country. This means that countries can still not approve the sale of pesticide products containing glyphosate in their country.



Whether the renewal approval decision for glyphosate contains conditions and restrictions on use:



The EU Crop Protection Products Regulation states that the Commission may impose the necessary conditions or restrictions on use when approving an active substance. As part of its proposal for the renewal of glyphosate, the Commission included several new conditions, including banning its use as a dehydrating agent and setting maximum limits for five impurities in glyphosate.



Will the decision be revisited in light of new scientific evidence:



As part of the renewal decision, a large-scale evaluation of glyphosate was conducted, making it probably the most extensively studied active substance in the world. However, if new evidence emerges that the approval criteria have not been met, the Commission will take immediate action to revise or withdraw the approval as required by the science.



Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Bayer's Roundup herbicide. Glyphosate is also known as a versatile herbicide, which kills plants. Where glyphosate is sprayed, no grass, shrubs or moss will grow again. This agent is mainly used in agriculture to keep fields weed-free before planting crops. Bayer has said decades of research have proven glyphosate is safe and has been widely used by farmers.



Glyphosate, used in products such as the herbicide Roundup, has been at the center of a fierce scientific debate over the past decade over whether glyphosate causes cancer and its potentially devastating effects on the environment. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, based in France and part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as a "probable human carcinogen." In 2020, the EPA determined that the herbicide posed no risk to human health, but a federal appeals court in California last year ordered the agency to review that finding, saying there was not enough evidence to support it. French President Emmanuel Macron promised to ban glyphosate by 2021, but later backtracked; In July 2023, the European Union's food safety agency said it had found "no key areas of concern" in the use of glyphosate, which would pave the way for a 10-year extension.



The question of whether glyphosate causes cancer is indeed controversial. The EFSA did not find unacceptable dangers, but noted data gaps and unresolved issues. This shows that we do not fully understand the effects of glyphosate. Although glyphosate is very effective in weeding fields, it can also be harmful to the environment.

The decision to extend glyphosate's license for another decade may raise concerns among some. However, this decision is based on currently available scientific evidence and assessments by relevant agencies. It is important to note that this does not mean that glyphosate is absolutely safe, but that there are no clear warnings within the current knowledge.

The European Commission's new rules and restrictions are also aimed at further controlling and regulating glyphosate use. This shows that the EU takes public health and environmental protection very seriously, although there are still some disputes.

Overall, the licensing extension of glyphosate has sparked controversy because of the limited level of knowledge about its potential harms. The EU's decision is based on currently available scientific evidence, while also highlighting the importance of the environment and public health.