The EU Commission failed to secure adequate backing form member states’ experts for its proposed temporary renewal of glyphosate’s license on Monday.

The Commission has said glyphosate products could be withdrawn from sale in the EU if no compromise is reached before the license expires at the end of June. Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used herbicide, and the debate over its future - sparked over concerns it may cause cancer - has led to “mounting concern” amongst farm unions, leaders of Britain’s biggest farm groups said ahead of the vote.

Two previous renewal proposals (for 15 and nine years) were rejected by member states in March and May over health concerns, which have attracted a huge amount of public interest. Contradictory findings on glyphosate’s carcinogenicity from EU watchdog EFSA and the World Health Organisation’s cancer research agency IARC have led to to intense debate about the correct course of action for EU legislators.

The Commission had proposed a temporary extension of the herbicide’s license pending the results of a review it ordered from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), but member states which have backed IARC’s 2015 opinion that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen refused to support the extension. According to a German environment ministry spokesperson - who spoke to Reuter’s after Monday’s vote - 20 member states backed the Commission’s temporary relicensing proposal, 7 abstained and only Malta opposed the plans outright.

The decision on glyphosate will now go before an appeal committee again made up of member state representatives, though the Commission will have the final say on relicensing, regardless of the committee’s conclusions.

Reacting on Monday, a spokesperson for the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), which represents pesticide manufacturers, said, “The 'no opinion' from the committee is hugely disappointing. ECPA shares the sentiment voiced by Commissioner Andriukaitis last week when he said decisions should remain based on science, not political convenience. ECPA frequently hears politicians proclaim Europe has the safest food safety system in the world: with this decision all they do is cast doubt on that system, and create fear and confusion amongst Europe’s consumers: the very people the system is designed to protect.

“Failure to re-approve glyphosate would have significant negative repercussions for the competitiveness of European agriculture, the environment, and the ability of farmers to produce safe and affordable food.”

However, Greenpeace EU’s food policy director Franziska Achterberg said, “Extending the glyphosate licence would be like smelling gas and refusing to evacuate to check for a leak. As long as there is no meaningful EU-wide restriction on glyphosate use, we will continue to live in a world that is awash in a weedkiller which is a likely cause of cancer.”

Achterberg said that this year alone the Commission has already extended the licences of 37 chemical pesticides, even in cases where ECHA has raised concerns.

The Greenpeace spokesperson continued, “It’s scandalous, but not unusual for the Commission to keep dangerous pesticides on the market after their licences expire. It has even extended the licence for substances that Europe’s own chemicals agency has identified as highly damaging to our health. What’s new this time is that governments paid attention and didn’t just sign off on the Commission’s proposal.”