Glyphosate authorisation: General Court sets strict criteria for the renewal of plant protection product authorisations – no de facto extension due to delays caused by the applicant companies
In its judgment of 19 November 2025 (T-565/23), the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ruled on a key issue concerning the renewal of authorisations for plant protection products, such as glyphosate: How should delays and the possibility, in these proceedings, of temporarily postponing the expiry of the authorisation until the proceedings are concluded be assessed?
Background: Glyphosate is one of the most widely used active substances in herbicides worldwide. The authorisation for glyphosate originally expired on 31 December 2015. Beyond this date, the European Commission postponed the expiry of the authorisation several times due to procedural delays, until it finally renewed the authorisation in December 2017 until December 2022. As part of the subsequent procedure to renew the authorisation, the Commission again postponed the expiry of the authorisation due to procedural delays, until it finally granted the current authorisation in November 2023, valid until 15 December 2033. However, the expiry of the authorisation may only be postponed if it is due to reasons for which the applicant is not responsible – in this case, Bayer Agriculture (Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009). The claimant, the Aurelia Foundation, a recognised environmental organisation, challenged this and requested an internal review of the postponement. The Commission rejected this request, citing the complexity of the documentation and delays on the part of the authorities involved.
The ruling: The Court rejected this line of reasoning. It held that the European Commission’s one-sided assessment in favour of the glyphosate authorisation did not meet the requirements. In particular, given the need to achieve a high level of protection for human and animal health and for the environment, and to comply with the precautionary principle, the requirements for postponing the expiry date must be strictly applied. The conduct of the company seeking authorisation must be examined objectively and in detail throughout the proceedings. The European Commission must examine whether and to what extent the applicant’s conduct contributed to the delay. The court emphasises that the applicant plays a central role in the renewal procedure, as they are responsible for the completeness and quality of the documentation submitted. Delays may also be attributable to the applicant even if they meet formal deadlines but submit incomplete or deficient documentation, leading to requests for further information and additional assessments.
The significance of the decision: By the time the authorisation for the use of glyphosate expires on 15 December 2033, the renewal procedure for use beyond that date must have been completed. In light of the General Court’s judgement, the European Commission will have to adopt a much more cautious approach to postponing the expiry date. Repeated extensions during the course of the procedure, as has been the case in recent years, are therefore less likely. Such extensions will only be considered if delays within the renewal procedure are not attributable to failures on the part of the applicant, i.e. the manufacturer. This raises the requirements regarding the documentation to be provided and its submission within the prescribed time limits. The key points are likely to be, in particular, the provision of data and risk assessments, as well as all scientific and peer-reviewed publicly available literature on the active substance and its metabolites (see Article 6(2)(d) and (l) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1740). If, therefore, the applicant submits incomplete documentation – for example, in order to withhold critical documents – there is a risk that the authorisation will expire as a result of the resulting delay. In particular, the Federal Government has in the past pursued a clear line regarding the authorisation of glyphosate: the fact that the product may still be used in Germany, apart from in water protection areas, amongst other places, is solely due to the extended authorisation at European level. Without this, its use would, in principle, be prohibited in the Federal Republic of Germany from 1 January 2024.