In light of heavy criticism by the EU socialists in the revived glyphosate debate, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com that political opinions cannot outweigh broadly-agreed scientific opinions.

The European Commission decided this week (17 May) to restart the discussions with member states about a possible ten-year renewal of glyphosate’s licence.

Anca Paduraru, the Commission’s health spokesperson, told EURACTIV that the ten-year proposal is a “starting point” for the debate as the glyphosate issue is not a “routine case”. The final say on the exact number years is in the hands of the member states.

This prompted the reaction of socialist MEPs who suggested that the Commission is following a non-transparent process.