GM Watch
  • Main Menu
    • Home
    • News
      • Newsletter subscription
      • Daily Digest
      • News Reviews
      • News Languages
    • Articles
      • GM Myth Makers
      • GM Reports
      • GM Quotes
      • GM Myths
      • Non-GM successes
      • GM Firms
        • Monsanto: a history
        • Monsanto: resources
        • Bayer: a history
        • Bayer: resources
    • Videos
      • Latest Videos
      • Must see videos
      • Cornell videos
      • Agriculture videos
      • Labeling videos
      • Animals videos
      • Corporations videos
      • Corporate takeover videos
      • Contamination videos
      • Latin America videos
      • India videos
      • Asia videos
      • Food safety videos
      • Songs videos
      • Protests videos
      • Biofuel myths videos
      • Index of GM crops and foods
      • Index of speakers
      • Health Effects
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donations
    • How donations will help us
News and comment on genetically modified foods and their associated pesticides    
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Newsletter subscription
    • News Reviews
    • News Languages
      • Notícias em Português
      • Nieuws in het Nederlands
      • Nachrichten in Deutsch
    • Archive
      • 2021 articles
      • 2020 articles
      • 2019 articles
      • 2018 articles
      • 2017 articles
      • 2016 articles
      • 2015 articles
      • 2014 articles
      • 2013 articles
      • 2012 articles
      • 2011 articles
      • 2010 articles
      • 2009 articles
      • 2008 articles
      • 2007 articles
      • 2006 articles
      • 2005 articles
      • 2004 articles
      • 2003 articles
      • 2002 articles
      • 2001 articles
      • 2000 articles
  • Articles
    • GM Myth Makers
    • GM Reports
    • How donations will help us
    • GM Quotes
    • GM Myths
    • Non-GM successes
    • GM Firms
      • Monsanto: a history
      • Monsanto: resources
      • Bayer: a history
      • Bayer: resources
  • Videos
    • Index of speakers
    • Glyphosate Videos
    • Latest Videos
    • Must see videos
    • Health Effects
    • Cornell videos
    • Agriculture videos
    • Labeling videos
    • Animals videos
    • Corporations videos
    • Corporate takeover videos
    • Contamination videos
    • Latin America videos
    • India videos
    • Asia videos
    • Food safety videos
    • Songs videos
    • Protests videos
    • Biofuel myths videos
    • Index of GM crops and foods
  • Contact
  • About
  • Donations
SUBSCRIBE TO REVIEWS

LATEST NEWS

  • Japan's first genome-edited food, a tomato, gets green light for distribution

  • New report shows EFSA systematically ignores risks of GM crops and foods

  • Brexit voters reject lower food standards

  • Victory in fight against deregulation of GMOs in Italy

  • France has not backed deregulation of gene-edited crops

GMWatch Facebook cornfield banner

SCIENCE SUPPORTS REGULATION OF GENE EDITING

Plant tissue cultures

GENE EDITING: UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES AND RISKS

Damaged DNA on fire

GENE-EDITED CROPS & FOODS

Help stop the new threat

News Menu

  • Latest News
  • News Reviews
  • Archive
  • Languages

News Archive

  • 2021 articles
  • 2020 articles
  • 2019 articles
  • 2018 articles
  • 2017 articles
  • 2016 articles
  • 2015 articles
  • 2014 articles
  • 2013 articles
  • 2012 articles
  • 2011 articles
  • 2010 articles
  • 2009 articles
  • 2008 articles
  • 2007 articles
  • 2006 articles
  • 2005 articles
  • 2004 articles
  • 2003 articles
  • 2002 articles
  • 2001 articles
  • 2000 articles

Please support GMWatch

Donations

You can donate via Paypal or credit/debit card.

Some of you have opted to give a regular donation. This is greatly appreciated as it helps place us on a more stable financial basis. Thank you for your support!

Scandal erupts around German glyphosate vote

  • Print
  • Email
Details
Published: 27 November 2017
Twitter

Minister of agriculture goes rogue, votes for glyphosate renewal in spite of environment minister's opposition

Today a qualified majority of EU member states voted for the Commission proposal to renew the authorization of glyphosate for five years. Germany voted in favour, despite having previously abstained from voting on the topic due to a difference of opinion between the environment ministry (which opposes renewal) and the agriculture ministry (which supports it).

Now a number of news reports circulating in Germany indicate that the German YES to glyphosate was sent to Brussels by the minister for agriculture Christian Schmidt (CSU, Bavarian Regionalist Conservatives), without the consent of and even against a explicit written veto by his colleague, the minister of environment Barbara Hendricks (SPD, Social Democrats).

This is a serious and unexpected break of procedure and trust within the government.

The division in the German government over glyphosate has been confirmed by Hendricks in the following words (confirmed by her spokesperson in writing):

"Exactly two hours before the start of the Appeals Committee meeting, today at 12:30, I clearly stated to my colleague Mr Schmidt over the phone that I still disagree with renewing the approval of glyphosate, even under certain conditions. It was therefore also clear that Germany had to abstain at the appeal committee meeting. At 13:07, Mr Schmidt confirmed to me by SMS that the disagreement remains.

"Apparently at the same time a different directive was issued to the representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Brussels than was agreed between us. Anyone interested in building trust between partners cannot behave in that way."[1]

Pesticide Action Network Europe’s environmental toxicologist Angeliki Lysimachou commented on the 5-year renewal of glyphosate: "Although this might seem an improvement compared to the original 15-year proposal, it does not address the concerns of Europeans and provides no guarantee that the general public and the environment will be protected from the harmful effects of this chemical. This decision reveals once again the sad truth that governments are more keen to protect the highly profitable pesticide industry than the health of their people and the environment."

Notes

1. In German: „Genau zwei Stunden vor Beginn der Sitzung des Berufungsausschusses, nämlich heute um 12:30 Uhr, habe ich gegenüber dem Kollegen Schmidt telefonisch eindeutig erklärt, dass ich mit einer Verlängerung der Zulassung von Glyphosat weiterhin nicht einverstanden bin, auch nicht unter bestimmten Konditionen. Es war daher klar, dass Deutschland sich auch in der Sitzung des Berufungsausschusses enthalten musste. Um 13:07 Uhr hat Kollege Schmidt mir per SMS bestätigt, dass der Dissens bestehen bleibt.

Offenbar ist zur gleichen Zeit an den Vertreter des Bundeslandwirtschaftsministeriums in Brüssel eine andere Weisung ergangen als sie zwischen uns abgestimmt war. Jeder, der an Vertrauensbildung zwischen Gesprächspartnern interessiert ist, kann sich so nicht verhalten.“

Some articles in German about the issue:
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/eu-entscheidung-zu-glyphosat-spd-ministerin-hendricks-deutsche-zustimmung-ist-vertrauensbruch/20636592.html
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article171010504/Grosser-Aerger-wegen-Deutschlands-Ja-zur-Glyphosat-Zulassung.html
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/bruessel-hendricks-deutsche-zustimmung-zu-glyphosat-nicht-vereinbart-1.3768567

Menu

Home

News

News Archive

News Reviews

Videos

Articles

GM Myth Makers

GM Reports

GM Myths

GM Quotes

How Donations Will Help Us

Contacts

Contact Us

About

Facebook

Twitter

RSS

Content 1999 - 2021 GMWatch.
Web Development By SCS Web Design