MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, the European Commission failed to get sufficient support from the EU governments on its proposal to extend a license for glyphosate herbicide by 12 to 18 months. It was the third time that the European experts left the glyphosate issue open, and failed to reach a final decision.
“A ban will have dramatic consequences on European agriculture,” Søren Andersen stated.
On Tuesday, the EU College of Commissioners agreed to hold the vote on June 23 in the appeals committee made up of member states’ representatives. In case the decision is not taken until June 30, glyphosate will no longer be authorized in the bloc and the member states will have to withdraw authorizations for all glyphosate-based products.
In case the committee does not get a required majority of votes in support of license extension, the European Commission could still intervene in the process and extend the document itself.
The Danish Agriculture & Food Council considers Glyphosate an important pesticide in Danish agriculture and the most sold pesticide, which serves to tackle a number of difficult problems.
Many crops are made resistant to glyphosate, through genetic modifications, to increase the effectiveness of weed control.
The United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Later, the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization revealed in a report that glyphosate was unlikely linked to cancer.
