Austria may not ban glyphosate

Austria would be the first European member state to introduce a total ban on glyphosate. The European Commission has indicated that it does not agree with this proposal.

A year ago, Austria became the first member state of the European Union to announce a complete ban on the use of the herbicide glyphosate, also known under the brand name RoundUp. This under pressure from the social democrats (SPÖ) in the country. The ban would come into effect on January 1, 2020. In December, however, that plan suddenly became wiped off the table† The proposal had to be submitted to the European Commission first.

Ban not justified
It is now clear that Brussels is not giving the green light to Austria's plan. Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger said in a statement that no specific Austrian problems were identified to justify a ban on glyphosate. For that reason, no exception can be made from European regulations.

Glyphosate was re-approved in the European Union in 2017, after which the authorization was extended for another 5 years. Use after December 2022 will again require a majority of votes in the European Commission. Whether that will work remains to be seen. There is a lot of discussion about glyphosate, because it is possibly carcinogenic.

More and more undressed
The use of glyphosate has been stripped down in recent years. Several EU Member States, like Austria, want a total ban. Luxembourg has planned a ban as of January 1, 2021 and Germany previously announced that it would phase out the drug in the coming years. The European Commission's ruling towards Austria may shed new light on those plans.

The use of glyphosate is also under pressure in the Netherlands. More and more municipalities and provinces are therefore deciding to ban the use of glyphosate in lease contracts† Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten has so far not agreed to the requests for a national ban, because she believes this is in conflict with EU regulations and existing scientific knowledge.

Jeanette Pennings

Jeannet has her roots in the flower bulb sector and she grew up on an agricultural company in the northern part of North Holland. As a generalist she reports for Boerenbusiness across all sectors. She is also exploring the possibilities of sponsored advertising.

j.pennings@boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.