Letter to Commission President von der Leyen on glyphosate

Dear President von der Leyen,

We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament are deeply concerned regarding the Commission’s proposal to renew the market licence of the active substance glyphosate for a period of 10 years, in light of new evidence that glyphosate-based herbicides can cause leukaemia in rodents.

The Global Glyphosate Study, a multi-institutional international toxicological study, recently released its first carcinogenicity data, which shows that low doses of glyphosate-based herbicides caused leukaemia in rats. These findings are extremely alarming, as the first leukaemia deaths in these animals were observed at an early age and at doses which correspond to the supposedly EU’s No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) for all adverse health effects of glyphosate. Back in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) had already classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). In 2021, the French institute INSERM concluded that there is a moderate presumed link of glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Besides the carcinogenic properties of glyphosate-based herbicides, the recent conclusion of the EFSA identified numerous data gaps encompassing the risks to biodiversity of glyphosate exposure, its potential to cause neurotoxicity and its impact on the microbiome of humans and other species.

This new evidence casts a legitimate doubt as to the safety of the substance for human health. The reauthorization of a pesticide with significant health and environmental impact would be in stark contradiction with the aims of the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the European Biodiversity Strategy. We call on the Commission to prioritise the human health of European citizens by withdrawing its current proposal for a renewal of the glyphosate licence and, instead, propose its non-renewal.

Yours sincerely,

Jutta PAULUS (GreensEFA)

Philippe LAMBERTS (GreensEFA)

Malte GALLEE (GreensEFA)

Jordi SOLE (GreensEFA)

Sara MATTHIEU (GreensEFA)

Pär HOLMGREN (GreensEFA)

Grace O'SULLIVAN (GreensEFA)

Margrete AUKEN (GreensEFA)

David CORMAND (GreensEFA)

Gwendoline DELBOS-CORFIELD (GreensEFA)

Benoit BITEAU (GreensEFA)

Caroline ROOSE (GreensEFA)

Claude GRUFFAT (GreensEFA)

Marie TOUSSAINT (GreensEFA)

Mounir SATOURI (GreensEFA)

Lydie BERNARD (GreensEFA)

Damien CAREME (GreensEFA)

Michèle RIVASI (GreensEFA)

François ALFONSI (GreensEFA)

Karima DELLI (GreensEFA)

Ville NIINISTÖ (GreensEFA)

Alexandra GEESE (GreensEFA)

Sarah WIENER (GreensEFA)

Tilly METZ (GreensEFA)

Martin HÄUSLING (GreensEFA)

Henrike HAHN (GreensEFA)

Saskia BRICMONT (GreensEFA)

Piernicola PEDICINI (GreensEFA)

Manuela RIPA (GreensEFA)

Bas EICKHOUT (GreensEFA)

Kira Marie PETER-HANSEN (GreensEFA)

Ana MIRANDA

Rosa D’AMATO

Francisco GUERREIRO

Petros KOKKALIS (LEFT)

Elena KOUNTOURA (LEFT)

Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP (LEFT)

Leïla CHAIBI (LEFT)

José GUSMAO (LEFT)

Marisa MATIAS (LEFT)

Anja HAZEKAMP (LEFT)

Róża THUN (RENEW)

Michal WIEZIK (RENEW)

Nikos PAPANDREOU (S&D)

Maria NOICHL (S&D)

Sara CERDAS (S&D)

Günther SIDL (S&D)

Romana JERKOVIC (S&D)

Maria ARENA (S&D)

Ivo HRISTOV (S&D)

Milan BRGLEZ (S&D)

Pierre LARROUTUROU (S&D)