EU votes against weedkiller glyphosate

The European Union (EU) yesterday failed to win approval from members to renew a five-year licence for the controversial weedkiller glyphosate, which critics say causes cancer.

The European Commission said it fell short of the majority needed to renew the licence when it expires December 15 as only half of the 28 member states voted for its proposal.

“Given that a qualified majority could not be reached ... the result of the vote is ‘no opinion’,” said the commission, the EU executive.

The commission said it will now submit its proposal to an appeals committee by the end of November.

14 voted

The European Commission said 14 states voted for its proposal, also including Denmark, Britain and the Netherlands. Nine voted against, including Belgium, France and Italy, while five abstained, including Bulgaria, Poland and Portugal.

The European Commission had originally recommended approving the herbicide’s use for another decade. However, faced with growing uproar over the alleged dangers of glyphosate use, member state experts balked last month at a renewal and the commission then proposed reducing the timeframe from ten years to five years.

Environmental campaigners Greenpeace and other critics are calling for an outright ban in Europe for glyphosate, which is in the well-known weedkiller Roundup, produced by US agro-giant Monsanto.