Union Left Frustrated by Glyphosate Vote Stalemate
The EU committee of member state representatives’ vote on the 5 year relicensing of herbicide Glyphosate has failed to reach a qualified majority and will be postponed until a further date.
NFU Scotland are disappointed following a further delay to the reauthorisation of a product which has been deemed safe by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) amongst others. The decision will now be made by an appeals committee at the end of the month.
The science is clear that Glyphosate is a safe and environmentally friendly product and NFU Scotland believes that any decision made on its reauthorisation should be based on science rather politics.
NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick wrote to the President of the commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and two commissioners, Vytenis Andriukaitis and Phil Hogan. This was as well as sending two delegates out this week to conduct meetings with UK and Scottish Government representatives in Brussels, and Copa Cogeca.
Following today’s outcome, NFUS will continue to make the case for Glyphosate’s reauthorisation and encourage any of its members who feel strongly to contact the European Commission and constructively let them know of their point of view.
NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick commented: “Glyphosate is vital to Scottish farmers who use it to control weeds, manage harvests, and reduce grain drying costs. This failure to obtain a majority vote is just creating further uncertainty for our members, many of whom need to start planning for next year.
“Off the back of such a difficult harvest for so many Scottish farmers, the thought of not having such a useful product to help is a very daunting thought indeed. To drive home the point, I would ask all members and stakeholder affected to email or tweet Messrs Junker, Andriukaitis and Hogan to explain just how important glyphosate is to their business, and remember to use the #Glyphosateisvital tag.”
- Members are encouraged to support NFU Scotland lobbying by personally e-mailing and/or tweeting President Jean-Claude Juncker, Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis and Commissioner Phil Hogan to explain the importance of glyphosate to their business.
- Their contact details are:
Ends
Contact Douglas Ross on 0131 472 4108
Author: Douglas Ross
Date Published: 09/11/2017
News Article No.: 165/17
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