Press Note: Glyphosate: failed Member States’ vote shows it is impossible to ignore science – European Commission called to drop its proposal

Today, the European Commission failed to get enough support for its proposal to reauthorise the use of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used pesticide which is associated with risks of cancer and other health disorders, for another ten years. It is the second time in two months that EU governments fail to reach the required majority to adopt the Commission’s plans. 

HEAL urges the European Commission to withdraw its proposal for a renewal based on the amount of scientific evidence warranting serious health impacts.

“This new failure to garner a member states’ majority in favour of a 10-year renewal of glyphosate shows that it has become politically impossible to ignore the state of the science”, says Natacha Cingotti, HEAL’s Health and Chemicals Programme Lead. “It is unacceptable that the Commission still plans to go ahead with its proposal considering the amount of scientific evidence of the substance’s health impacts and the related suffering. While we can’t undo the decades of exposure, the Commission can still seize the opportunity to turn the tide towards more sustainable agricultural practices and drop its proposal now.”

The EU Commission first invited EU governments to vote on its proposal during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) that took place on 13 October 2023, but failed to garner enough support.

Today, the European Commission presented the same proposal for a vote by Member States in the Appeal Committee and failed again to garner a qualified majority. The institution now has the mandate to decide on the next steps concerning the reauthorisation process of glyphosate, before the current substance’s license expires on 15 December 2023.

For more information, and comments contact: Nea Pakarinen, Senior Communications and Media Officer, nea@env-health.org