EU countries fail to agree on 10-year extension for glyphosate use

euronews (in English)

EU member states have failed to agree on the European Commission's proposed 10-year renewal for the use of glyphosate, a controversial chemical substance used in herbicides.

Transcript

00:00 Neither approved nor rejected. On Friday, EU countries failed to agree on a ten-year

00:07 extension for glyphosate. Last month, the European Commission proposed renewing the

00:12 authorization for the herbicide until 2033. However, the 27 member states were unable

00:18 to reach a qualified majority. Austria and Luxembourg voted against it, while France

00:23 abstained. NGOs are happy with the outcome, emphasizing the product`s dangers.

00:32 The evidence does indicate serious adverse effects. Now, we know much more than we knew

00:38 back in 2017, because it`s not just cancer, it`s also neurotoxicity, it`s potential to

00:45 disturb the microbiome and every disease that could be linked to this that can develop,

00:51 and also the impact on biodiversity.

00:53 The European Commission nevertheless says that it`s made the necessary changes and provided

00:58 the information needed to convince and reassure governments.

01:04 The proposal the commission has submitted to the member states is a proposal that followed

01:10 extensive scientific research. Mountains of studies and data have been analyzed. Of course,

01:20 there are some gaps in data, information, which have been covered by our proposal, which

01:26 imposes a series of conditions on the use of the active substance of glyphosate.

01:33 The proposal must now be examined in the coming weeks by a separate committee involving member

01:37 states. But the outcome is still uncertain. If they can`t get the vote over the line,

01:44 the European Commission would have to take a decision before December the 15th, when

01:48 the current authorization expires.

01:51 [SWOOSH]

Category

Transcript

Recommended