Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters –– The European Commission bowed to pressure to give Europe’s parliaments the right to ratify a landmark free-trade deal with Canada, a decision meant to address public concerns but which could wreck Europe’s broader trade strategy. In the face of popular suspicion about secretive trade deals benefiting big companies, Commission President Jean-Claude […] Read more
EU bows to pressure, gives member parliaments say in Canada trade deal
EU farming chief wants rapid Brexit talks, plans new dairy aid
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hannover, Germany | Reuters — Europe’s agriculture industry, already grappling with a dairy crisis, wants rapid talks about Britain’s exit from the European Union to minimise disruption, EU farming commissioner Phil Hogan said on Thursday. “Farmers know better than anyone that you need stability and certainty to plan for the future,” Hogan said in a […] Read more
European Commission to extend glyphosate licence for 18 months
Reading Time: < 1 minute Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission is extending by 18 months its approval for the herbicide glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s Roundup, Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said on Tuesday. Contradictory findings on carcinogenic risks have thrust the chemical into the centre of a dispute between EU and U.S. politicians, regulators and researchers. Campaign groups urged […] Read more
EU officials to decide on Roundup after political impasse
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters –– An impasse between EU nations on whether to allow Monsanto’s Roundup and similar herbicides to continue to be sold means that the European Commission, rather than national politicians, will decide the issue next week. With most EU attention focused on Britain’s shock decision to quit the bloc, everyday work continued in […] Read more
EU delays vote on glyphosate license amid cancer row
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Union on Thursday delayed a vote on renewing sales approval for the herbicide glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s Roundup, amid a transatlantic row over whether it may cause cancer. Experts from the EU’s 28 nations had been due to vote on a proposal to extend by nine years licensing of […] Read more
France set to ban dimethoate-treated cherries
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — France will stop importing cherries from countries that use insecticide dimethoate after banning the chemical due to concerns over consumer health risks, the French agriculture ministry said. At a meeting of European Union country representatives on Friday, Italy and Spain said they would also withdraw dimethoate from their markets, but France […] Read more
European Parliament backs glyphosate, with conditions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European politicians advised on Wednesday that the herbicide glyphosate should only be approved for another seven years, rather than the 15 proposed by the EU executive, and should not be used by the general public. Environmental campaigners have demanded a ban on glyphosate, which is used in products such as Monsanto’s […] Read more
EU promises protesting farmers more help, no new money
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission announced more help for the agriculture sector on Monday, following protests by farmers who say they have been hit hard by a Russian ban on Western food imports. The focus of the support package is on the dairy, pigmeat, fruit and vegetable sectors. It includes measures such as […] Read more
EU may defer decision on glyphosate safety
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Union will defer a decision on whether to extend approval for glyphosate, used in herbicides including Monsanto’s Roundup, following a dispute between EU and U.N. agencies over whether it causes cancer, EU sources said Monday. Experts from all 28 member states attended a closed-door meeting on Monday in Brussels, […] Read more
EU to review use of last-resort antibiotic on farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — European drug regulators launched a review on Jan. 11 of the use in farming of a key last-line antibiotic called colistin, after international research found alarming evidence of a gene that makes bacteria resistant to the drug. The London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was responding to a European Commission […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
