The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to ban glyphosate, reform the EU pesticide approval process, and set mandatory targets to reduce pesticide use in the EU surpassed one million signatures last week.

The ECI has fulfilled the requirements set by the EU in less than five months, making it the fastest-growing ECI since the EU introduced this tool in 2012. The ECI organizers call on the European Commission to respect the signatories’ demands by refusing a new licence for glyphosate. The petition will remain open for sign-on.

David Schwartz, ECI Coordinator at WeMove.EU said: “European citizens aren’t fooled by the pesticide industry’s lobbying efforts or the faulty science it’s peddling. In less than five months, more than one million EU citizens have joined our call for a glyphosate ban and reduced pesticide use throughout the EU. Our politicians need to hear this message loud and clear: they must protect citizens and the environment by banning this dangerous weedkiller and putting us on the path towards a pesticide-free future.”

Franziska Achterberg, Greenpeace EU Food Policy Director said: “Monsanto and other producers of glyphosate are doing all they can to get governments around the world to approve their product. They have allegedly paid independent scientists to sign studies they wrote and cosied up with government officials to ‘kill’ unwanted investigations. Yet the Commission continues to maintain that everything is fine. Greenpeace demands an investigation into whether Monsanto has improperly influenced the EU assessment.”

The European Commission has recently announced its intention to renew the EU glyphosate licence by another 10 years. It is expected to issue a formal proposal ahead of a discussion with EU government representatives on 19 and 20 July. EU governments will be asked to vote on this proposal after the summer. Based on the outcome, the Commission will take a final decision before the end of the year when the current EU glyphosate licence runs out.