By Valentina Pop 
 

BRUSSELS--Representatives from the European Union's 28 nations on Monday approved a five-year license renewal for glyphosate, a key chemical in Monsanto Co.'s (MON) flagship herbicide.

The renewal was postponed by more than a year due to concerns that the chemical compound causes cancer.

The EU's chemicals agency in March dismissed those claims, prompting the European Commission, the bloc's executive branch, to propose a five-year renewal of glyphosate sales in the bloc.

The renewal decision was still controversial. While a majority of 18 countries voted in favor, nine nations, including France, voted against and one abstained.

"Today's vote shows that when we all want to, we are able to share and accept our collective responsibility in decision making," said Vytenis Andriukaitis, the EU health commissioner.

The commission is set to renew the five-year license before Dec. 15, when the current license expires.

Write to Valentina Pop at valentina.pop@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 27, 2017 10:27 ET (15:27 GMT)