EU member states agreed on Monday (27 November) on a five-year renewal period for the controversial herbicide glyphosate, used by Monsanto in its Roundup product... Germany's vote in favour of the proposal helped to reach a vote representing 65.71 percent of the EU population, just above the 65 percent threshold needed under the qualified majority rule... Germany's decision to support the renewal created waves in Berlin with the outgoing coalition government. The environment minister, Social Democrat Barbara Hendricks, said she had called her agriculture colleague, the Christian Democrat Christian Schmidt, in the morning to tell him that she "still did not agree" with the renewal. "You cannot behave like this when you try to build trust," she said after the Brussels vote, referring to the talks that are due to start soon to form a new coalition between the CDU and Christian Social Union, with the SPD... NGOs and environmental protection associations unanimously condemned member states' decision.