How
German politics pushed Roundup into the weeds
Controversial
Monsanto weedkiller could be pulled from shelves after German
deadlock.
By GIULIA PARAVICINI
5/28/16, 6:31 AM CET
German government
squabbling could see the world’s best-selling weedkiller off the
shelves, force farmers to scramble for alternatives and land the
European Commission in court.
It’s all part of a
row over glyphosate — a pesticide used in the weedkiller Roundup,
made by Monsanto and used by farmers to clear fields before planting
crops.
Its license for use
in Europe is up for renewal but environmental groups want it banned
after seizing on comments from a World Health Organization panel
report that suggested it is a “probable” cause of cancer.
A subsequent WHO
committee ruling that the chemical is safe in small amounts in food,
and backing from the Commission’s food safety agency, has not
changed the minds of green NGOs.
But it is deadlock
in the EU’s biggest member state that’s causing the biggest
headache for those pushing for renewal, with the German environment
and agriculture ministers at loggerheads and refusing to back down.
“The Commission
knows the German coalition government cannot bear the political cost
of opting for renewal … it could break the already fragile
alliance,” an EU official close to the talks said.
Glyphosate’s EU
authorization expires on June 30, and the Commission proposed a
15-year renewal period earlier this year. After fights with the
European Parliament, which requested a shorter time period and other
amendments, officials came up with a last-ditch compromise — a one-
to two-year renewal period.
But hours before
member countries had to submit a response to the European
Commission’s plan, Germany’s environment minister issued a
statement making her position clear.
“NEIN,” began a
long statement issued on Tuesday by Barbara Hendricks, a member of
the Social Democratic Party, the junior partner in the coalition.
“The SPD ministers
— and I emphasize all SPD ministries — have … decided to say NO
over the re-approval of glyphosate, as long as the health risks are
not fully clarified,” it said.
That effectively
killed any hope that Hendricks and the agriculture minister would
resolve their differences. If they don’t and glyphosate is banned,
the Commission’s fear is a multi-million euro lawsuit from
industry.
Politics vs science
German Agriculture
Minister Christian Schmidt, of the Christian Social Union, the
Bavarian sister party of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, backs
the renewal and accused the SPD of putting politics over science.
“I absolutely do
not understand the backflip of my colleagues,” Schmidt said, adding
that all of the environment ministry’s demands had been
incorporated into new draft regulation.
“The choice of the
SPD has not a scientific or a technical explanation, it’s pure
political logic,” Hermann Färber, a CDU MP in charge of
agriculture in the Bundestag, told POLITICO.
But Susanne Melior,
a German SPD MEP, said electoral politics play “no role whatsoever”
when it comes to glyphosate.
What can’t be
disputed, however, is that the SPD is suffering a slump in support,
with parliamentary elections next year. A Forsa poll on Tuesday put
support for the SPD at 20 percent, down from nearly 26 percent at the
last election.
NGOs such as
Greenpeace still point to the WHO panel report that called the
pesticide a probable cause of cancer.
“This is the
second time the Commission has failed to get the backing of EU
governments for the re-approval of glyphosate,” Greenpeace EU food
policy director Franziska Achterberg said after a second vote was
scrapped because a qualified majority, needed for approval under EU
rules, could not be reached.
“This is no
surprise, since the Commission has continued to ignore the concerns
of independent scientists, MEPs and European citizens. It’s time
for the Commission to change course.”
A later WHO report
saying there are acceptable levels that make it safe in food is
flawed, according to some other green groups, because it doesn’t
consider exposure for rural residents who live near crops sprayed
with glyphosate.
No plan B
Back in Brussels,
things are not looking good for the weedkiller’s renewal after
member countries let a Wednesday deadline for a deal pass.
The Commission is
running out of options. According to EU sources it is considering
holding a vote on renewal anyway, despite knowing that it won’t get
the backing it needs, and passing the issue on to an appeals
committee.
The stalemate has
led to a panic in the Commission’s Brussels HQ, according to
sources, with frantic meetings and calls between the cabinets of
President Jean-Claude Juncker and Health Commissioner Vytenis
Andriukaitis.
The pesticide
industry’s Glyphosate Task Force says politics has overtaken the
entire process.
The situation is
“discriminatory, disproportionate and wholly unjustified,”
Richard Garnett, chairman of the group, said in a statement.
“Ultimately, failure to follow the process appropriately and within
a reasonable timeframe will only serve to seriously undermine the
credibility of the EU legislative framework and put European
agriculture at a competitive disadvantage.”
This article has
been updated to clarify that some NGOs, not Greenpeace, make the
argument about exposure of rural residents to glyphosate.
Authors:
Giulia Paravicini
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