Strasbourg, 18 January 2018

Following the scandal of the Monsanto Papers and how the pesticide company tried to influence EU legislation, Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament requested that a special committee investigates what happened and puts in place measures to avoid any further scandals. 

 
Today the Conference of Group Presidents officially backed the creation of this special committee on glyphosate and other pesticides. It will have to be approved by the Parliament’s plenary in February. 

S&D vice-president for sustainability, Kathleen Van Brempt MEP, said:
 
“The Monsanto scandal unveiled how the multinational company tried to influence the outcome of scientific reports so that the licence of the controversial pesticide would be renewed. This is unacceptable and we will get to the bottom of it.
 
“At a time when the EU is engaged in improving legislation on health safety and a sustainable environmental policy, we can’t afford a shadow of a doubt. We must find out whether the positive reports of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) on glyphosate were influenced by Monsanto.
 
“However, the scope will be broader than this specific case. We will demand a strong mandate to scrutinize the way in which various pesticides are authorised. Our aim is to improve the procedures and address citizens’ concerns, to increase transparency and assure that European Agencies can rely on independent scientific research.”