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US-UK Rift: Could Differences Between Johnson and Biden Lead to Deep Row Between the Nations?_我的网站

一 |     BRUSSELS -- A European Union decision on whether to authorize the use of the controversial chemical herbicide glyphosate in the 27-nation bloc for at least 10 more years was delayed for a month after member countries failed to agree on Friday.The chemical, which is widely used in the 27-nation bloc, is approved on the EU market until mid-December. Representatives of the EU’s executive arm and member countries voted Friday in favor of renewing its authorization until 2033, despite protests from environmental groups. But to be adopted, the 10-year extension proposed by the European Commission required a “qualified majority,” defined as 55% of the 27 members representing at least 65% of the total EU population of some 450 million people. Several member states abstained, and that was not achieved. The European Commission is now expected to amend its proposal before another vote takes place next month. Ultimately, if no consensus is found, the Commission will have the final say.Green members of the European Parliament welcomed the delay and urged member states to vote for a complete ban of glyphosate.“It is irresponsible to again renew the authorization of the use of glyphosate,” said Bas Eickhout, the vice-chair of the Parliament's environment committee. "This would give the big agri a blank check to earn billions by selling a pesticide for which there are still big gaps in knowledge about the effects on our health, and at the same time poses large risks for European biodiversity.”Over the past decade, glyphosate, used in products like the weedkiller Roundup, has been at the heart of heated scientific debate about whether it causes cancer and its possible disruptive effect on the environment. The chemical was introduced by Monsanto in 1974 as an effective way of killing weeds while leaving crops and plants intact.The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified it as a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015. The EU’s food safety agency had paved the way for the 10-year extension when it said in July it “did not identify critical areas of concern” in the use of glyphosate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found in 2020 that the herbicide did not pose a health risk to people, but a federal appeals court in California ordered the agency last year to reexamine that ruling, saying it wasn’t supported by enough evidence.EU member states are responsible for authorizing the use of products including the chemical on their national markets, following a safety evaluation.In France, President Emmanuel Macron had committed to ban glyphosate before 2021 but has since backpedaled. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, plans to stop using it from next year, but the decision could be challenged. Luxembourg’s national ban, for instance, was overturned in court earlier this year.Greenpeace had called on the EU to reject the market reapproval, citing studies indicating that glyphosate may cause cancer and other health problems and could also be toxic to bees. The agroindustry sector, however, claims there are no viable alternatives.“Whatever the final decision that emerges from this re-authorization process, there is one reality that member states will have to face up to,” said Copa-Cogeca, a group representing farmers and agricultural cooperatives. “There is as of yet no equivalent alternative to this herbicide, and without it, many agricultural practices, notably soil conservation, would be rendered complex, leaving farmers with no solutions.”。    UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come up with a plan to repurpose arable land which is at present used for crop-based biofuels so that more food might be grown as food prices and inflation soar.,However, officials of US President Joe Biden made it clear on 26 June that Washington wouldn't "okay" Johnson's initiative in a bid to protect American farmers and avoid breaking climate commitments. According to the British daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, Germany appears to back the British premier's plan whereas Canada and the US have rejected it. Johnson's plan needs the unanimous support from all G7 nations for it to fly.,"I think the rift is one that happens periodically between the UK and US - without minimizing the significance, there have been tensions on trade issues for some years now (including the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on the UK). How serious it becomes is questionable," says Professor Robert Singh, specialist in contemporary US politics at the University of London's Birkbeck College.,UK on Collision Course With US as BoJo Set to Prioritize Food Production Over Green Energy06:06 GMT,Previously, Johnson and Biden clashed over Brexit customs issues and the Northern Ireland Protocol with the American president reportedly accusing the British premier of "inflaming" Irish tensions ahead of the 2021 G7 Summit in Cornwall.,Given the record of friction between Biden and Johnson, it appears likely that if the UK does legislate to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP), Washington will react negatively, Singh suggests. Downing Street has published a Bill proposing to change the protocol unilaterally in favor of British businesses and communities. It would also grant the British government powers to amend the agreement further if appropriate.,"It's possible that [the NIP amendment] could then inflame the trade issue further," says Singh. "[I]t will worsen the Johnson government's record, at a time when the cost of living crisis, inflation, and many other problems are piling up. It's probably, on balance, yet another own goal by Johnson - an unnecessary diplomatic row that was avoidable.",To complicate matters even more, Johnson skipped a climate summit hosted by Biden for world leaders earlier this month, despite 15 other heads of state and government attending the virtual gathering. According to Politico, the premier's absence "reverses a previous snub from Biden" who declined to attend a climate meeting Johnson hosted on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in 2021.,Yet another diplomatic row rocked London and Washington after the UK issued licences to four British flagged vessels to fish for Patagonian toothfish - also known as Chilean seabass - near Antarctica. Earlier, a 26-member fishing regulatory body, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) set specific catch limits for the species. The US immediately accused Britain of breaching the commission's rules, rendering the catch illegal. The feud could lead to an import ban on Patagonian toothfish, according to the media.,Northern Ireland Protocol Used as Proxy in Tory Efforts to Unseat BoJo, Legal Expert Says14 June, 18:55 GMT,UK-US Spat Can be Fixed Quicker Than That Between UK and EU,The UK-US tensions are unlikely to lead to a serious breach in relations in the near future, insists Dr Roslyn Fuller, director of the non-profit think-tank Solonian Democracy Institute and the author of the book Beasts and Gods: How Democracy Changed Its Meaning and Lost Its Purpose.,"Johnson and Biden are both career politicians and will probably behave pragmatically," says Fuller. "Even were they to exaggerate their differences in the press to play to their respective electorate, this would be unlikely to affect their highly connected working relationship greatly.",Though the NIP issue could cause some additional tensions between the UK and the US, the nations are likely to solve relatively minor dilemmas, such as the spat over the toothfish catch, according to the author.,"As the two major English-speaking powers and neoliberal nations that have cooperated intensely on military matters in the past, it would be quite stupid on their part to indulge in any serious in-fighting," she says. "I think the US is paying increasing attention to Germany as the remaining European superpower, but that doesn't necessarily have to come at the expense of the British.",However, when it comes to the UK and the EU, the rift between them indeed appears to be deepening, according to Fuller:,"Britain also obviously lost faith in the EU and its regulatory regime, and clearly wants to go its own way to the extent that it can," the author says. "This is thus an example of increasing global fragmentation."。

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