Press Release – #StopGlifosato Coalition | italiano
The European Parliament has not considered the request coming from civil society.
The #StopGlifosato coalition, which counts 45 Italian associations, strongly opposes the use of the herbicide, and the resolution approved on 24 October by the European Parliament in favour of a progressive phase-out of the use of glyphosate by the end of 2022 .
“A majority has not listened to the concerns of European citizens – said the spokesperson of the Coalition Maria Grazia Mammuccini – the Environmental Committee had approved in the last few days a document which called for a phase out by 2020. To extend the phase out period is not acceptable. A five-year extension is the time that the chemical industry counts on to silence all problems. We have seen their ability in recent months to put pressure on institutions even going as far as hiring ghost-writers – disguised as independent scientists – to support their agenda”.
“The resolution of the European Parliament goes well beyond the time limit, for a product the effects of which on human health and the environment are well known – continues Mammuccini – It now moves to the member states to express themselves tomorrow at the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed. To ministers Martina and Lorenzin, who had given assurances that Italy’s position is that of an immediate stop to the authorization, we ask that they loudly and clearly voice this position, and safeguard the interests of citizens and the quality of Italian agriculture “.
According to the Coalition, this decision of prolonging the term for the elimination of glyphosate, is in contradiction with the position expressed today at the European parliament, which urges to proceed with authorization of chemical substances only on the basis of peer reviewed independent scientific studies commissioned and published by the competent public authorities. The EU regulatory agencies should be provided with sufficient resources to allow them to work in this way. “
In other words, we need to change course over the methods applied by EFSA and ECHA to overcome the opinion of IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The assessments of the latter, indeed were based solely on independent studies, while the two European agencies have also based their decisions on research supplied by the industry. “A fair request, which should support a decision for an immediate ban of glyphosate. Media around the world have shown, through the publication of Monsanto Papers, that there is an interconnection between regulatory agencies and research driven by multinationals that goes beyond a lawful exchange of views. It is imperative to make the right policy decisions based on these facts”
#StopGlifosato Coalition:
ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE PEDIATRI – AIAB – ANABIO- APINSIEME – ASSIS – ASSOCIAZIONE PER L’AGRICOLTURA BIODINAMICA – ASSO-CONSUM – ASUD – AVAAZ – CDCA – Centro Documentazione Conflitti Ambientali – CONSORZIO DELLA QUARANTINA – COSPE ONLUS – DONNE IN CAMPO CIA LOMBARDIA – EQUIVITA – FAI – FONDO AMBIENTE ITALIANO – FEDERBIO – FEDERAZIONE PRO NATURA – FORUM ITALIANO DEI MOVIMENTI PER L’ACQUA – FIRAB – GREEN BIZ – GREEN ITALIA – GREENME – GREENPEACE – IBFAN- ITALIA – IL FATTO ALIMENTARE- IL TEST – ISDE Medici per l’Ambiente – ITALIA NOSTRA – LEGAMBIENTE – LIFEGATE – LIPU-BIRDLIFE ITALIA – MDC-MOVIMENTO DIFESA DEL CITTADINO – NAVDANYA INTERNATIONAL – NUPA-NUTRIZIONISTI PER L’AMBIENTE – PAN ITALIA – Pesticide Action Network – REES-MARCHE – SLOW FOOD ITALIA – TERRA NUOVA – TOURING CLUB ITALIANO – UNAAPI-UNIONE NAZIONALE ASSOCIAZIONI APICOLTORI ITALIANI – UPBIO – VAS-VERDI AMBIENTE E SOCIETA’ – WWF ITALIA – WWOOF-ITALIA
Coalition spokesperson:
Maria Grazia Mammuccini, +393357594514
Update, 25 October:
EU vote to renew glyphosate for 10 years fails
Politico.eu, 25 October 2017
An initial round of votes on whether to renew glyphosate’s license for a further 10 years in the EU on Wednesday morning failed to attract sufficient support today.
This will spur the European Commission to negotiate a shorter renewal period with EU countries, people involved said.
According to two officials briefed on talks inside the Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, 16 countries (Bulgaria, Denmark, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Finland and the U.K.) voted in favor of the renewal.
That falls short of the threshold needed to reach a qualified majority. Germany and Portugal abstained while Belgium, Greece, Croatia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden voted against the renewal.
Diplomats said that the Commission is now asking around the table to see if reducing the period of the renewal could bring countries on board to support the relicensing of the popular weedkiller.