According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the Commission will propose to renew the authorisation for the popular herbicide ingredient for 10 years at a vote of the experts’ panel known as the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF) due to rule on the issue on 18 and 19 May.

Le Monde has seen the draft regulation - no doubt leaked by French officials intent on blocking the renewal of the chemical, used in Monsanto’s Roundup and other sprays.

The newspaper quoted a spokesperson for environment minister Séolène Royal as saying that “Paris will oppose the renewal of glyphosate for 10 years”.

Such disagreement among EU member states, fuelled by conflicting scientific reports on the potential health risks posed by glyphosate, had led to the postponement of the latest scheduled vote of the PAFF committee on its renewal last month.

The European Parliament has weighed in on the issue in recent weeks, first calling for a complete re-drafting of existing regulations at the committee stage, then passing a non-binding resolution asking the Commission to renew the licence for seven years only.

MEPs also opposed the use of glyphosate by non-professionals and for pre-harvest burn-off, but Le Monde reports that no such restrictions are included in the latest draft regulation.

While Eurocrats are fighting it off, the clock is ticking: glyphosate’s current authorisation expires on 30 June.

Full coverage: glyphosate

New spat in sight for relicensing of le glyphosate

The Dealer had to brush up on his high-school French to read about the latest draft regulation from the European Commission on the relicensing of glyphosate.