The European Parliament has agreed to establish a new committee which will look at the authorisation procedure for pesticides.

The decision is a result of the publication of the Monsanto Papers. These paper are internal documents from the company that owns Roundup, which MEPs say shed doubt on the credibility of the EU’s evaluation of glyphosate safety.

The new committee will assess potential conflicts of interest in the authorisation process.

It will also look at the role of the European Commission in renewing the glyphosate licence and whether EU agencies are adequately staffed and financed to fulfil their obligations.

The term of the committee, which will have 30 members, is to be nine months from its first meeting.

It will deliver a final report of its factual findings and recommendations.