Glyphosate studies: a case for the European Court of Justice

A group of Greens/European Free Alliance MEPs has filed a case with the European Court of Justice demanding public access to the studies used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in assessing the safety of glyphosate.

For more than a year now, MEPs are following EFSA’s assessment of the chemical as non-carcinogenic to humans – contrary to the WHO's cancer agency. The Greens/EFA group has been requesting that EFSA grant public access to the scientific studies used for their assessment. In order to protect the commercial interests of the companies involved, EFSA has refused to provide access to crucial information that would allow for independent scientific scrutiny. Without details on the methodology and materials used, or more details on the results and conclusions, scientists and researchers cannot verify that this was the outcome of a sound scientific process.

Greatest possible transparency necessary

Against this background the Greens/European Free Alliance are demanding public access with the help of the European Court of Justice. Green food safety spokesperson Bart Staes comments:"There should be no place for secrecy in science, especially when it concerns people’s health and our environment. We want the greatest possible transparency so that studies can be subjected to proper scrutiny and the public interest upheld. The health of Europe’s people has to be more important than the commercial interests of a few big agricultural firms."

Green legal affairs and transparency spokesperson Heidi Hautala adds:"This is a not an attack on the European Food Safety Authority, whose work we value greatly. Rather, this is an attempt to gain legal clarity on which studies must be published, something that should help the work of EU agencies. Given the high public interest in this issue, it is our duty to ask the judges to take a view on this important issue."