Luxembourg’s 2021 ban on glyphosate has no legal basis, an administrative second instance administrative court has ruled.

Luxembourg was the first member state to unilaterally ban the use of the pesticide on 1 January 2021 after it was sued by Bayer, who argued Luxembourg’s approach had violated EU law.

However, according to the second instance court, the ban had no legal basis in Luxembourg, with glyphosate being currently allowed in the EU until 15 December this year.

For a national glyphosate ban to hold its legal ground, a member state needs to prove that the pesticide, given the specific agricultural conditions in the country, poses significant environmental and health risks – requirements the government has not met as the court argued that it had made “no indication of any legal argument”.

Only the coalition agreement, which foresaw the ban on glyphosate for 1 January 2021, was invoked by the government as a legal basis, according to the court.

However, the decision appears to divide interest groups.

The president of the Luxembourgish farmers’ organisation showed relief over the decision, welcoming the decision to use glyphosate in the future, while the president of the environmental NGO Mouvement écologique criticised it, stating that the last years showed that farming is possible without the pesticide.

The minister responsible for the file, Claude Haagen (LSAP/S&D) said he “took note” of the ruling and informed that a decision would be presented at a press conference on Friday.

(Luka Krauss| EURACTIV.com)