Est. 4min 14-07-2010 (updated: 05-11-2012 ) cornfield.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram EU member states will be able to ban GMO cultivation on their territory under new proposals tabled yesterday (13 July), but will need the EU institutions' approval to act if their decision is not based on scientific evidence. The European Commission adopted a "package" of proposals overhauling the EU policy on GM crop cultivation, hoping to draw a line under years of controversy regarding GMO approvals. "We are basically giving much more flexibility to member states to restrict the cultivation of GMOs in their countries," EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner John Dalli said at a press conference in Brussels. The proposals have sparked a wave of criticism, with biotech firms fearing that the measures could jeopardise the internal market and undermine farmers' choice of technology, as well as give rise to legal disputes between farmers, crop companies and national authorities. Guidance on co-existence In the package adopted by the EU executive, a recommendation on co-existence between GM and non-GM crops is "the immediate solution to allow member states freedom to cultivate," said Commissioner Dalli. The recommendation replaces, as of yesterday, the 2003 Commission guidance on national co-existence measures. Co-existence measures aim to prevent the unintended presence of GMOs in other products, and prevent economic losses caused by traces in conventional and organic crops. The new recommendation allows member states to establish "GMO-free" areas and to adopt stricter isolation measures to avoid an unintended presence of GMOs in other products. It amends the previous recommendation, which advised EU countries to limit co-existence measures, including the size of buffer zones between GM and non-GM fields, to comply with EU regulations limiting their presence in other crops to 0.9%. Right to ban cultivation Another legislative proposal seeks to revise the 2001 Directive on the Deliberate Release of GMOs. The plan is to insert a new article (Article 26b) into the directive in order to give member states the possibility to restrict or prohibit cultivation of GMOs on their territory on grounds other than those covered by EU health and environmental risk assessments. This means that the EU-27 can ban GM crop cultivation on their territory based on socio-economic, ethical and moral grounds, Dalli said. But environmental NGOs have argued that the proposal does not provide the legal certainty that member states need in order to adopt permanent bans on GMOs that have received EU approval, and would only lead to legal disputes between crop companies and member states (EURACTIV 12/07/10). However, Dalli rejected those claims, stressing that "my legal advice contradicts with this". He also refuted criticism that the proposals merely aim to speed up the GM crop authorisation process. "Let me be clear: there are no trade-offs. There's no speeding up of authorisations and no weakening of the requirements of the legislation agreed by Parliament and Council in 2003," he said. As for those worried about the internal market consequences of GMO restrictions, Dalli said that the Commission recognises member states' competence to organise their agro-economic sectors and activities as they prefer. If a country wants to support organic farming on its territory, for example, then GM crop cultivation could jeopardise this aim, he noted. Subject to co-decision, the legal amendment needs to be approved by both the European Parliament and the Council before entering into force. Read more with Euractiv EU mulls beefing up energy savings policy Günther Oettinger, the EU's energy commissioner, said last week (8 July) that he would assess the need for stronger EU regulation on energy efficiency in the context of a new policy "action plan" to be presented in 2011. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters Positions Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) said that giving member states the final word over the planting of GM crops "undermines the integrity of the internal market and sets a dangerous precedent for finding common solutions to other cross border issues". "Whatever one's view on the benefits or risks associated with GMOs, the matter is one of common European interest and concern and, as such, requires a unified approach across all member states," and "it is the duty of the Commission to seek and find a solution, even to the most difficult issues and particularly in the absence national consensus," he added. The French socialist delegation in the European Parliament denounced the "false freedom" given to member states over GM crop cultivation. "The text seems attractive at first glance," said Gilles Pargneaux MEP, a member of the Parliament's environment committee. "But the devil is in the detail and trade-offs are expected," the MEP added, arguing that GM restrictions at national level are expected to come in exchange for support in approving new GM crop varieties at EU level. "The proposals are unacceptable," Pargneaux concluded, saying "Commissioner Dalli wants to force the hand of governments to accelerate the authorisation of [GM] cultures which have been blocked for twelve years". The Greens in the European Parliament denounced the proposals, which they say are aimed at giving member states more autonomy to restrict the cultivation of GMOs in exchange for their support in authorising new GM varieties. German MEP Martin Häusling (Greens/European Free Alliance) said the proposals do nothing to protect organic and conventional farmers in countries that allow the cultivation of GMOs. "In an initial impact assessment, the Commission has clearly acknowledged that the proposals could lead to negative impacts for non-GM farmers in some countries," he said. Finnish MEP Satu Hassi MEP (Greens/European Free Alliance) said the proposals do not give legal guarantees to member states. "As EU-wide authorisation is maintained, countries which want to ban GMOs will be confronted with lawsuits by biotech companies," she said. French MEP Josè Bové (Greens/European Free Alliance) agreed, adding that "at this time, what Europe needs at the international level is more cohesion, not less". He said "Europe cannot afford to be divided on this issue at the WTO". The European Association for Bioindustries (EuropaBio) said it was disappointed that the proposals "disable rather than enable the application of beneficial and rigorously tested agricultural biotech products and technologies". It argued that for the proposal to be workable "it must be science-based, proportionate in its recommendations and non-discriminatory to those farmers that wish to choose to grow the crops that work best for them". EuropaBio's director for agricultural biotechnology, Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, said the proposals appear to give governments a carte blanche to ban safe and approved GM crops in any country or region regardless of the needs or wishes of their farmers. "In addition, the proposals will inject further legal uncertainty for those farmers that do wish to grow these crops" amid new challenges of globalisation, climate change, food insecurity and shortage of natural resources, he added. EU farmers' lobby Copa-Cogeca also voiced "major concerns" about the Commission's proposal to allow member states to ban the cultivation of an authorised GM crop on their territory. Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said: "We are concerned that the new approach on GM cultivation sets a dangerous legal precedent, jeopardising the internal market for approved products and increasing distortions of competition amongst EU farmers by diverging label thresholds." "Furthermore, farmers may face arbitrary, non-scientific decisions by their competent national authorities relating to the cultivation and co-existence of GM crops with conventional and organic ones. This will result in new legal and commercial risks, which farmers cannot cover themselves for," Pesonen said. Green NGOs Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace argued that "today's proposal would be the reverse of what EU environment ministers unanimously called for in 2008 - a strengthening of the authorisation procedure". "We urge countries to reject this deal as it stands. Until member states' demands for a full reassessment of the risks of GM crops are met, there should be a moratorium on authorising new GM crops," said Friends of the Earth Europe food campaigner Mute Schimpf. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements' (IFOAM) EU Group said that the proposals are not an adequate response to the contamination problems the European food sector is already facing. Victor Gonzalvez, a Spanish board member of the IFOAM EU Group, said that in Spain, many farmers have had to give up growing maize as they cannot deliver GMO-free quality any more. "Huge economic damage has been reported throughout the food chain related to GMO contamination, but also related to the prevention of contamination, which still has to be paid by those who want to remain GMO-free," he added. The group argues that Europe-wide, legally-binding rules that effectively prevent contamination and implementation of 'the polluter pays' principle for GMOs must be achieved "to relieve the organic and conventional GMO-free sector of this economic burden". Background Two GM crops can currently be cultivated in the EU: a GM maize strain (MON 810) was authorised for commercial cultivation in 1998 and a GM starch potato ('Amflora') was authorised for cultivation and industrial processing in March 2010. More than ten other requests for authorisation of GMO cultivation, or for their renewal, are at different stages of the procedure. At present, EU member states are only able to restrict genetically modified (GM) crop cultivation under strict conditions as authorisation licences are valid across the 27-country bloc, in accordance with the principles of the EU's single market. Austria, Hungary, France, Germany, Greece and Luxembourg have adopted safeguard measures and prohibited the cultivation of the GM maize MON810 on their territories. In addition, Austria, Luxembourg and Hungary have notified the European Commission of their decision to prohibit of the cultivation of the 'Amflora' potato and Poland has legislation in place forbidding the marketing of all GM seeds. Timeline 13 July 2010: Commission recommendation on co-existence applies as of its adoption. 2010-11: Legislative proposal to be discussed in European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers. Sept. and Oct. 2010: First Council discussions on package. Nov. 2010: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to publish final version of revamped guidelines for the environmental risk assessment of genetically engineered plants. By end of 2010: Commission to publish report on socio-economic implications of GMOs. Further ReadingEuropean Union Commission press release:GMOs: Member States to be given full responsibility on cultivation in their territories(13 July 2010) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission memo:Questions and Answers on the EU's new approach to the cultivation of GMOs (13 July 2010) Political Groups Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe:GMOs: Commission abdicates responsibility to Member States(13 July 2010) Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance:Commission proposes a dangerous deal (13 July 2010) Industry federations and trade unions European Association for Bioindustries (EuropaBio):EuropaBio Initial Response: Commission’s Nationalisation of Approval for the Cultivation of GM Crops(13 July 2010) International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) EU Group:Commission proposals on GMO cultivation bans fail to solve problems of GMO-free food sector(13 July 2010) Copa-Cogeca: Copa-Cogeca voices concerns about new EU Commission proposal to introduce national authorisation on GM cultivation(13 July 2010) NGOs and Think-Tanks Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace:Commission plans to relax rules on GM crops in Europe - Procedural tweaks fail to protect public and environment(13 July 2010) Press articles EURACTIV France:OGM: La Commission renvoie la balle aux Etats membres EURACTIV Romania:Comisia Europeana vrea sa lase statele membre sa decida asupra cultivarii Organismelor Modificate Genetic
