Update – 6 August 2020:

While the Austrian glyphosate ban was scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2020, the country’s caretaker leader announced she would not sign the ban into law in December 2019, citing that Parliament had not formally provided the correct notification to the EU. Subsequently, the Austrian Parliament has sent the correct formal notification to the EU and the Commission now has until 19 August 2020 to comment or object. [1]

References:

1. https://www.vienna.at/glyphosat-totalverbot-in-oesterreich-antrag-an-eu-kommission-geschickt/6622979 (in German)

Update – 16 December 2019:

In July 2019, the Austrian Parliament passed the first national ban on glyphosate in Europe. For the ban to come into force, the European Commission had to review it by 29 November, 2019. The WeMove community sent thousands of messages to the Commission to ensure they did not block the ban. And just a few weeks ago, the Commission decided not to formally block the ban. [1]

Because no formal objection had been made, we expected that the Austrian government would implement the law, which would make the ban effective as of 1 January 2020. However, on 9 December 2019, Austria’s caretaker leader said that she would not sign into law the European Union’s first national ban on glyphosate due to a technicality. [2] Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, a career judge who must sign bills for them to become law, said the bill could not come into force because the the European Commission had reportedly not been given the necessary notification about the measure to allow it to come into force.

We will continue to fight to ban glyphosate in Austria and across Europe and keep you updated on developments.

References:

1. https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/austria-on-course-to-become-first-eu-country-to-ban-glyphosate/
2. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-glyphosate/austrian-parliament-backs-eus-first-total-ban-of-weedkiller-glyphosate-idUSKCN1TX1JR

Why is this important?

The scientific evidence of glyphosate’s carcinogenic effect is increasing. Already in 2015 the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” [1] And more recently, a review of existing studies from the University of Washington found that exposure to glyphosate increases the risk of cancer by 41 percent. [2] They noted that a “compelling link” exists between exposure to glyphosate and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The pesticide industry and giants like Bayer-Monsanto continue to maintain that glyphosate is safe. [3] However, US litigation has brought to light evidence of how they manipulated the scientific debate and misled the public over glyphosate’s dangers. In 2017 when the EU made a decision to prolong glyphosate license for 5 years until 2022, it based its decision on an assessment that included text that was copied and pasted directly from the application dossier submitted by Monsanto, without attribution. [4]

The Austrian Parliament is set to take the pioneering step to be the first EU country to completely ban glyphosate. [4] Austria’s historic ban could finally prove to be the catalyst that accelerates an EU-wide ban to remove glyphosate from our food supply.

The EU Commission and EU countries now have until 29 November 2019 to comment on Austria’s ban. Bayer-Monsanto and its powerful lobby are gearing up to get the EU to strike down the Austrian law. They claim that the ban is “‘inconsistent with mandatory legal and procedural requirements and scientific reasoning.” [5]

The problem with Bayer-Monsanto’s claim is that the EU’s approval of glyphosate was based on plagiarised Monsanto text, and scientific evidence demonstrates that exposure to glyphosate likely increases the risk of cancer. Moreover, when the Commision was trying to get EU countries to approve a new license for glyphosate in 2017, it already told them that they could ban glyphosate individually if they wanted! [6]

The European Commission should ignore Bayer-Monsanto’s lobbyists and ensure that Europeans are not exposed to potentially carcinogenic chemicals. If the Commission upholds Austria’s ban, many other EU countries could follow suit. If together we force the EU to respect the ban, we could be closer than ever to a glyphosate-free future for all of Europe.

Let’s tell the Commission to respect Austria’s and all EU countries’ right to ban pesticides, and to prepare an EU-wide glyphosate ban.

References:

1. https://www.iarc.fr/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/
2. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/us-glyphosate-cancer-study-scli-intl/index.html
3. https://www.dw.com/en/austrian-parliament-votes-to-ban-glyphosate-weedkiller/a-49450418
4. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/eu-glyphosate-approval-was-based-on-plagiarised-monsanto-text-report-finds
5. https://www.wsj.com/articles/austrian-herbicide-ban-adds-to-problems-for-roundup-owner-bayer-11562087770
6. https://ec.europa.eu/germany/news/hintergrund-fragen-und-antworten-zu-einer-m%C3%B6glichen-neuzulassung-von-glyphosat_de
   https://fr.news.yahoo.com/glyphosate-france-autoris%C3%A9e-%C3%A0-prendre-mesures-dinterdiction-154014834.html?guccounter=2

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