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Roundup: European Parliament calls for considering cutting authorization period of glyphosate

Xinhua, April 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Parliament (EP) on Wednesday asked the European Union (EU) authorities in a non-binding resolution to consider reducing the period of market authorization for glyphosate, a herbicide which has raised concerns about its effects on human health.

The EP is holding a plenary session in Strasbourg.It said that the European Commission should renew the authorization for glyphosate on the EU market for only seven additional years, rather than the 15 years originally proposed.

The resolution on glyphosate was adopted by 374 votes in favor, 225 against and 102 abstentions. This authorization should only be granted for professional use as well, insisted the EP.

MEPs would also like the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to "immediately disclose all the scientific evidence that has been a basis for the positive classification of glyphosate and the proposed re-authorization, given the overriding public interest in disclosure."

Since the expiration of patent on the active molecule in glyphosate in 2000, the substance has been commercialized by multiple organizations. Several hundred products for plant protection containing glyphosate are currently registered in Europe for use in agriculture.

There remain, however, large degrees of concerns over the herbicide's potential as a carcinogen and its role in the disruption of endocrine functioning.

The parliamentarians asked for an independent study, and in view of the ongoing classification of glyphosate by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), its approval would be reevaluated as part of distinct legislation.

They called on the European executive to table a new draft to take into better account the sustainable use of herbicides containing glyphosate.

In addition, the resolution condemned as inacceptable the use of glyphosate in an agricultural practice known as "green burndown," in which the plant is killed before harvest in order to accelerate ripening and facilitate harvesting.

According to the MEPs, glyphosate should not be approved in public parks, public playground and public gardens, or in proximity to these common spaces. Endit