A new opportunity to put an end to one of the most controversial herbicides due to its health effects. This Friday, European Union member states failed to reach the majority required to ratify renewal of herbicide use for another ten years glyphosateThe agreement will expire next December 15, upon the proposal of the European Commission, and the issue will be discussed again next month. France and Germany blocked the proposal, leading to the first defeat; in its place, Spain is in favor of continuing the use of this product.
Twenty-seven people voted this Friday in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (Scopaff) on the Commission’s proposal to renew the use of glyphosate for 10 years, but The majority required to approve or reject the proposal was not reachedAccording to Efe’s news in the statement made by the community manager.
As a result, the proposal based on the opinion presented, The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will be presented to the Appeals Committee andThe Commission proposal is expected to be discussed and voted on in the first half of NovemberBrussels said. The Administration, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, reminded that “the decision on the renewal of glyphosate must be made before 14 December 2023, as the current approval expires on 15 December 2023.”
Possibly carcinogenic
Products containing this chemical are mainly used against weeds that damage crops in agriculture and horticulture. yes ok The World Health Organization (WHO) warned about the carcinogenic risks of glyphosate in 2015The European Food Safety Agency and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) later claimed they had scientific evidence to classify the world’s most used herbicide as non-carcinogenic.
So after two years of debate Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide was approved in 2017 It will continue to be available in the EU, albeit for a shorter period than usual, for five years instead of the usual 15, and last year the license was renewed once again until next December 15, pending the EFSA report.
This European agency concluded last July: level of risk does not justify banIt was accepted that some issues could not be evaluated in the report, provided that the use of pesticides was accompanied by measures to reduce human, animal and environmental health.
EFSA’s director general, Bernhard Url, admitted that they did not have “all the data” on this substance, which has been on the market for forty years, and that this “prevents conclusions on some issues.” With this report in hand, the Community Administration proposed last September to renew the glyphosate license in the EU for another ten years; For example, “strict conditions” regarding the protection of groundwater and small mammals.
contaminated water
Last month, a study commissioned by the Green group in the European Parliament and produced by the European Pesticide Action Network warned: surface waters A dozen EU Member States are contaminated with the herbicide glyphosate. To carry out the study, 12 EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Poland and Portugal) at the end of October 2022, after the agricultural season.
Surface waters in a dozen EU Member States are contaminated with the herbicide glyphosate, according to a report
Although the use of this herbicide is currently permitted in the EU, some countries, e.g. Belgium, Austria, France and Germany have banned its use at the national level. In Spain, according to Ecologistas en Acción, 34.6% of surface water sampling points are contaminated by herbicides, according to data in the report. swimming in glyphosate It was published in 2022. The worst pollution data was recorded in 2022. The Guadiana River contains 308.10 micrograms of glyphosate per liter; that’s 3,000 times higher than the law allows. According to Ecologistas en Acción.
basins in 2021 The highest number of stations at risk of glyphosate contamination were in Andalusia: Andalusian Mediterranean basins, Gaudalete-Barbate and Tinto, Odiel and Piedras, then Tajo, Júcar and Guadiana.
Spain looks positively at renewal
Sources from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) emphasized that “Spain is positive about the renewal of glyphosate” in the light of scientific information and evaluation reports carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).“They eliminate existing doubts about the safety of this active material.”
“The position of the Government of Spain is to follow the results of the scientific evaluation reports, which in this case are not contrary to the extension of the authorization for the use of this active material,” they added.
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