Non-beneficial effects – EU report criticises glyphosate 

A confidential European Commission report says that glyphosate, the world’s number one selling pesticide, could harm beneficial insects and mites. The report goes on to recommend that the herbicide should have its European-wide regulatory seal of approval postponed pending further investigation. 

The European Commission is reviewing the herbicide glyphosate under Directive 91/414. This Directive contains an Annex 1 which is a positive list of pesticides that are permitted to be used across the European Union (EU). At present only a handful of pesticides are on this list, so pesticide regulation still operates at a national level in each Member State. Eventually any pesticides not on Annex 1 will effectively be banned for use across the EU.
    The German government, which has responsibility for reviewing glyphosate, produced a long and detailed review in December 1998 that is now being discussed by Member State regulators. The regulators, along with the European Commission, will decide early next year whether glyphosate will be added to Annex 1 of the Directive. At that stage a report will be made available to the public.
    The Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] has seen a copy of the review. One of the recommendations is “to postpone the decision regarding the inclusion of the active substance glyphosate in Annex 1 of Directive 91/414.” Submitted documents show that “after application for the intended uses and in the correct manner harmful effects on arthropods … cannot be excluded.” The arthropods at ‘high risk’ are predatory mites and parasitoids. 
    This demonstrates that widespread use of this broad spectrum herbicide may have adverse consequences for non-target beneficial species and for biodiversity.
    The German review raises questions about the EU approval pesticide process:

• The Trust considers there should be greater transparency, and that reviews of pesticides should be made public as soon as they are produced. 

• Public interest groups, not just industry, should be allowed to comment on these reviews.

• At the European level, the review of pesticides is very slow. This process must be speeded up. (DB)

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 46, December 1999, page 11]