Over the past decade, glyphosate, used in products like the weedkiller Roundup, has been at the heart of heated scientific debate about whether it causes cancer and its possible disruptive effect on the environment.
The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015.
The 10-year extension proposed by the European Commission required a “qualified majority,” defined as 55% of the 27 members representing at least 65% of the total EU population of some 450 million people.
Pascal Canfin, the chair of the Environment committee at the European Parliament, blamed the EU Commission president for moving forward despite the stalemate.
“Ursula von der Leyen is therefore forcing the issue by re-authorizing glyphosate for 10 years without any majority, while the continent’s three biggest agricultural powers (France, Germany and Italy) have not supported this proposal,” he wrote on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.
Greenpeace had called on the EU to reject the market reapproval, citing studies indicating that glyphosate may cause cancer and other health problems and could also be toxic to bees.
The original article contains 651 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!