Glyphosate – the active ingredient in leading garden weedkillers, including Roundup – has been been given another temporary reprieve by the European Commission.

Early last week (Monday 27 June), just three days before its licence was due to expire, the Commission extended approval for 18 months to allow further research by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The agency is due to report back next year.

Campaigners had been hoping they had done enough to persuade the commission to ban glyphosate altogether, on health and environmental grounds. The Commission stepped in to break the deadlock after a standing committee of member states failed to reach a consensus on a way forward.

Gary Philpott, UK business director for lawn and garden at Monsanto and chair of the Crop Protection Association’s Common Sense Gardening Group, said: “Gardeners will be relieved that they will continue to be able to purchase and use this safe, efficient and effective garden care chemical. However, it is disappointing that what should have been a routine re-authorisation process has become politicised, causing some to lose sight of the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence showing that glyphosate poses no risk to human health or the environment.”

Philpott believes that, given that the existing extensive evaluation carried out by the EU and the fact that more than 40 years of robust scientific evidence had confirmed that glyphosate poses no risk to human health, the standard 15-year renewal should have been granted.

“Hopefully this 18 month extension will provide an opportunity for common sense and scientific evidence to prevail,” he said in a statement. “Failure to re-licence glyphosate for the full 15 year term would be contrary to the science and remove a key tool which

helps create and maintain a garden as part of an integrated approach that considers alternative methods of pest, weed, and disease control when appropriate.

“Human health and responsible use of garden care chemicals is and must always be our highest priority. As an industry we take pride in the detailed submissions we provide to regulators and the extreme rigour with which our products are assessed. Gardeners can feel confident when using glyphosate-based products that they provide a highly effective and safe solution to weed problems at home.”