The European Parliament’s political leaders on January 18 green-lighted a special committee to look into the EU’s authorisation procedure for pesticides.
The full House will take the final decision on the proposal by the Conference of Presidents (Parliament’s president and political group leaders) during its plenary session in February.
According to a European Parliament press release, the special committee is a response to concerns raised about the risk posed by the herbicide substance glyphosate. The herbicide had its marketing licence renewed by EU member states for five years in November 2017.
The special committee is to assess the authorisation procedure for pesticides in the EU, as well as the potential failures in how substances are scientifically evaluated and approved. The role of the European Commission in renewing the glyphosate licence will also be reviewed, as will possible conflicts of interest in the approval procedure.
