- The 27 countries of the European Commission have not reached an agreement to ban the contaminant herbicide, so they have extended the use authorisation expired on 15 December with restrictions. Many experts and institutions say that the product of the multinational Bayer, which is widely used in agriculture, generates cancer.
The European Commission has taken a decision this Thursday that may pose a significant risk to agriculture and public health in Europe: the use of glyphosate has prolonged its life for ten years as it has not been able to find an agreement between the Member States that make it up to ban it. They have met for the second time, the first took place on 13 October.
Thus, a contaminant herbicide may be used in the European Union until at least 2033, but a number of restrictions or limitations have been imposed on it: it cannot be used as a crop secant and when used, protective measures must be taken by the organisms affected by glyphosate in the agricultural industry.
The herbicide marketed by Monsanto with the trademark Roundup since the 1970s has spread throughout the world, especially for the production of GMOs, but it affects other large agricultural areas and is currently in the hands of the multinational Bayer.
It is believed that it can cause cancer, a recent study published in Italy has linked this contaminant to leukaemia, and the World Health Organization also has it under suspicion because it can be an endocrine disruptor, it damages underwater life and destroys biodiversity.
Martin Dermine Pan Europe, a member of the European Network of Entrepreneurs Against Pesticides, explains to the Reporterre portal that the presence of poppies and flowers on wheat fields will be a matter of the past. The activist recalled that the scientific research centre CNRS has concluded that bird populations in glyphosate intensive areas are being eliminated.
However, the European Commission has not banned its use, claiming that the European Food Safety Authority has carried out ‘rigorous studies’ and has not identified ‘worrying’ conclusions.
The environmental groups and citizens against them say that behind this decision there is a trick to protect the companies that produce this herbicide.
I have to say that the Commission is not prepared to accept the amendments.
The groups of citizens against them say that behind this decision there is a trick to protect the companies that produce this herbicide. Ekologistak Martxan expressed his intention to support "in the face of complaints that could be received from 15 December".
The pharmaceutical multinational Bayer is being accused of the Roundup product. For example, in June, he was forced to pay a millionaire fine in the United States, to the State of New York, for using misleading advertising that said his herbicide was safe.
Before the decisive meeting of the 27 Member States of Europe, 106 organisations have sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, signed by Martin Dermin himself. They recall that it has to comply with the European Green Pact, which requires a transition from dependence on pesticides to sustainable food: "Ignorance of glyphosate damage can pose a significant health risk to baserritars, the general population and biodiversity."