During the past year, over 1.3 million European Union citizens signed a petition calling for the total ban of glyphosate. While the petition did not persuade EU lawmakers to outright ban the substance, it did require that the EU commissioners respond, due to the sheer volume of signatures and historical precedent of the petition.

The EU's response included three main components moving forward. Firstly, the EU will provide a more detailed explanation regarding the rules on pesticides. Secondly, the EU announced a legislation proposal for spring 2018 to enhance transparency of scientific assessments of substances. Lastly, future amendments to legislation, regarding substances, will aim to strengthen how studies are conducted; for example, public authorities may play a larger role in the process and conduction of studies.

First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, stated: "It's great that well over a million EU citizens have invested their time to engage directly on an issue that matters. The Commission has listened and will now act. We need more transparency about how decisions are made in this area."

The petition may not have been successful in completely banning the use of glyphosate in EU member countries; however, it did successfully promote transparency for future legislation.

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