(28 November 2017) – A much-awaited qualified majority of EU member states was reached yesterday for the re-authorisation of the world’s most commonly used weed killer, glyphosate.
The Appeal Committee, which consists of experts from the EU member states and the European Commission, met on Monday to discuss renewing the approval of the active substance glyphosate.
According to the Commission, a qualified majority of member states voted in favour of the Commission’s proposal for a five-year re-approval (18 in favour, nine against and one abstention). Germany voted in favour of re-approval, having previously abstained. This ensured the qualified majority for approval.
A total of 18 Member States voted in favour of the proposal (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). 9 Member States voted against (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta) and only Portugal abstained. (EurActiv)