Monsanto papers and glyphosate: lessons for the EU  

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Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the EU, but its licence is to expire at the end of the year ©AP Images/European Union-EP  

MEPs discussed the EU risk assessment of the herbicide glyphosate, in the light of the so-called “Monsanto Papers”, with experts in a public hearing on Wednesday.

You can watch each speaker’s intervention via our Live replays.

 

Presentations from the panellists are available here.

 

Facts

 

Glyphosate is a widely used, but highly controversial plant protection product and the active substance in Monsanto's weed killer Roundup. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) concluded that glyphosate is safe, while the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified it as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

 

At the hearing, MEPs discussed with experts the scientific basis for the risk assessment of glyphosate and the alleged influence of industry representatives on this assessment in the US and the EU. Leaked internal Monsanto emails suggest that the scientific assessment of glyphosate might have been influenced by the company.

 

The hearing took place against the background of the ongoing debate over the renewal of glyphosate's license in the EU. The current license expires on 15 December 2017, and the Commission has proposed a renewal for ten years. The hearing aimed to help MEPs decide on possible follow-up action.

 

Live replay page (videos, in pieces of 1-12 minutes, broadcast quality, shortly downloadable after the event started):

http://audiovisual.europarl.europa.eu/Package.aspx?id=54822&asset=V&type=L

 

(Dynamic) Page where all the related assets (Photos, Videos, Audio + info) are published:

http://audiovisual.europarl.europa.eu/use-of-glyphosate