Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 9 • Number 12 • 26th June 2009
EU Member States Seek Solution for Biotech Crop Debate
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Austria, with the support of several other EU states, tabled a proposal to change the way the bloc regulates the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops. The proposal aims to make minor amendments to EU Directive 18/2001, which would allow Member states to independently decide their position on the controversial issue, rather than the decision making process taking place in Brussels.
The Austrian initiative, tabled Tuesday at a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg, proposes a ‘socioeconomic’ rationale that would allow countries to regulate or prohibit completely the cultivation of biotech crops. For example, one diplomat explained that a wine-growing country could prohibit the cultivation of GM crops next to vineyards as the quality of wine could be affected by their proximity to the engineered strains.
“The legally soundest solution we envisage is a set of minor amendments to relevant EU legislation, which should introduce the right of an individual member state to restrict or prohibit indefinitely the cultivation of authorised GMOs on its territory,” the note reads. “Such an ‘opt-out’ clause could be formulated in quite straightforward legal terms and could easily be integrated into the existing legislation.”
But while the proposal is based on a socioeconomic rationale, the note acknowledges that there is currently no methodology available for defining or evaluating the concept. “Such criteria could be discussed and agreed upon during the process of discussion on socio-economic aspects that started with the adoption of the Council conclusions of 2008,” the note reads.
Currently, only one crop - MON810, a maize variety distributed by the company Monsanto - has been approved for cultivation in the EU. However, the EU’s failure to lift national bans in France and Greece in February led to a string of similar initiatives around the Union. In addition to the two countries, Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Germany now have national bans on cultivating MON810.
Biotech giant Monsanto has been frustrated by the spread of GM restrictions in Europe and has launched legal action against Germany over its ban (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 1 May 2009, http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/45945/).
The current bans take advantage of a temporary ‘safeguard clause’ that allows EU states to implement restrictions or bans if the country determines that there is a risk to human health or the environment. The new Austrian proposal aims to replace the safeguard clauses, which must be perpetually renewed, with a more permanent solution.
While the proposal seeks to facilitate national bans on GM cultivation, some environmentalists have expressed concerns with the bill. “We’re not very enthusiastic about the proposal,” said Corinna Zerger, the Green Party’s Advisor on Food Safety and Quality. Zerger says that allowing countries to decide their own biotech policy will allow GM cultivation to continue in biotech-friendly EU countries.
The other countries supporting the Austrian proposal are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, and Slovenia.
Additional information
Austria’s proposal, ‘Genetically Modified Organisms - A Way Forward’, can be accessed here: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st11/st11226-re01.en09.pdf
ICTSD Reporting.
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