The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it would renew the authorization of the herbicide for ten years due to lack of agreement between EU member countries.
“France has given up on taking action”, reacted on franceinfo the socialist MEP Christophe Clergeau, national secretary of the PS for Europe, while the European Commission announced Thursday, November 16 that it would renew the authorization of glyphosate in the European Union for ten years. The decision was taken after EU member states failed to agree on the reauthorization of the pesticide. France once again abstained.
“France’s role was to put on the table a proposal to phase out glyphosate, for example over three years, and strong support for farmersbelieves Christophe Clergeau. By abstaining or even voting against, France knew that the Commission was going to reproduce glyphosate for ten years.”
“Emmanuel Macron let it happen, even though in 2017 he was committed to an exit [du glyphosate].”
Christophe Clergeau, national secretary of the PS for Europeat franceinfo
“It’s an abdicationcontinues Christophe Clergeau, it is proof of its impotence, of its lack of influence in Europe, and a hypocrisy, a cowardice of the French government, which takes refuge behind the Commission to hide that it agrees with the renewal of glyphosate.”
“We must have courage on this issue”
Christophe Clergeau believes that it was necessary “put on the table an alternative proposal to that of the Commission, and that the States vote between two proposals. There, the States had no choice, and therefore it necessarily ended with the adoption of the Commission’s proposal “. The socialist MEP maintains: “We must have courage on this issue. Farmers have already come a long way to get away from glyphosate. Alternative solutions exist: they are expensive, they require human labor, so we must help farmers financially. But it is possible to phase out glyphosate in the next three years, for example.”
Criticisms against agrochemical lobbies are well-founded, believes Christophe Clergeau. “Everyone recognizes today that the most recent scientific results, that the studies which show the dangers [du glyphosate]were largely excluded from the panel of studies which were used to assess the risk. for the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), according to the MEP. “It was very early on that these lobbies were able to establish their domination.”