EU states rebel against plans to relicense weedkiller glyphosate
Source: The Guardian
EU states rebel against plans to relicense weedkiller glyphosate
Vote to approve relicensing of ingredient in herbicides including Roundup
had been due on Monday, but it might be postponed
Arthur Neslen in Brussels
Friday 4 March 2016 19.55 GMT
A rebellion by several EU countries could scupper plans by the European commission to approve the relicensing of a weedkiller linked to cancer by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The vote to relicense glyphosate, a key ingredient in herbicides such as Monsanto’s multibillion-dollar brand Roundup, had been scheduled at a two-day meeting of experts from the EU’s 28 member states, which begins on Monday.
But officials are now saying that they may postpone the vote rather than lose it, raising the prospect of a legal limbo for glyphosate, the licence for which runs out in June.
France, the Netherlands and Sweden have all said they will not support an assessment by the European food safety authority (Efsa) that glyphosate is harmless.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/04/eu-states-rebel-against-plans-to-relicense-weedkiller-glyphosate
