The renewal process for glyphosate registration is to be delayed by up to a year. A temporary “rollover” extension of the current licensing arrangements may be required to prevent the licence lapsing.

The delay is due to the need to assess the huge volume of information submitted as part of the renewal process.

The various elements in the re-registration process were due to be completed ahead of the December 2022 decision date but this is now not likely until the second half of next year.

An announcement by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) earlier this month indicated that it will not have completed its various assessments relating to the glyphosate consultation processes until July 2023. So it will be later that year before a decision on re-registration can be taken.

The delay is due to the huge amount of information submitted as part of the public consultation process.

The EFSA received 368 responses from the public and approximately 2,400 comments from member state experts and the Glyphosate Renewal Group (GRG).

These contributions resulted in a file of approximately 3,000 pages which must be scrutinised and will then serve as a basis for the preparation of the updated draft renewal assessment report.

Commenting on the delay, the group on the renewal of glyphosate stated that “Under the EU Plant Protection Regulation, such a delay would result in a dedicated regulatory procedure leading to an extension of the approval period for glyphosate while the process of renewal continues until a final decision is made.”