Commission proposal must be strengthened but no immediate ban

Prior to the European Parliament vote on an objection to the European Commission's proposal to renew the approval of glyphosate, the EPP Group has proposed a balanced strategy to send a message to the Commission and Member States to find a solution to this issue.

"We want to change the Commission proposal so that it is a real compromise. We want to reduce the authorisation time from 15 to 7 years and we want to apply strict limitations. For example, it should be prohibited to use glyphosate immediately before the harvest, if it is only to enable the harvesting machines to work more easily. This is already prohibited in some countries and the risk that residues are produced in the end product is of course higher when it is used immediately before harvesting", commented EPP Group Spokesman in the Environment Committee, Peter Liese MEP.

“The use of the plant protection product glyphosate worries European citizens, obviously, but at the same time, the agricultural sector depends highly on it and it is absolutely necessary to find solutions to replace it before totally forbidding it", declared Angélique Delahaye MEP, EPP Group Shadow Rapporteur.

For Peter Liese, the Commission's initial proposal will not succeed unchanged due to its controversy: “The EPP Group also calls for the promotion of research and innovation to find sustainable and cost-efficient alternatives to the use of glyphosate”, he said.

"The objection by the Greens and the Left-wing Groups is only a political move that prevents us from thinking concretely on the issue. The reality is that, on this day, glyphosate has become essential for many weeding strategies and there are no viable alternatives which also guarantee the absence of consequences on human health to offer farmers. But professionals must be trained and we want the use for non-professionals to be strictly limited", Angélique Delahaye concluded.