The European Commission stands ready to insert a clause referring to biodiversity in the glyphosate renewal proposal if it is requested by member states, a Commission Spokesperson told EURACTIV.com….
The glyphosate debate heated up in September when French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot announced Paris would vote against the renewal of Monsanto’s weed killer.
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EURACTIV asked the EU executive [Social-Democrat Sigmar Gabriel] whether it was mulling a “biodiversity clause” in the glyphosate proposal.
“So far, no member state has made a request to insert such a clause referring to biodiversity. If and when such a request is made, the Commission is, of course, ready to look into it, together with all member states in the Standing Committee,” a European Commission Spokesperson noted.
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As far as the other member states are concerned, EURACTIV has learnt that the vast majority have not come to a clear conclusion.
Luxembourg, for instance, faces similar internal disagreements as Germany and may therefore abstain.
Italy is close to France on the issue while technical services in several smaller member states have greenlighted glyphosate’s re-authorisation but are still awaiting a final decision from the political leadership.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Commission open to ‘biodiversity clause’ to end glyphosate deadlock
