No U-turn: EU Environmental Ministers agree on GMOs

(December 8, 2008) The council of EU ministers responsible for the environment reached agreement this week on the topic of ‘green gene technology’. In contrast to indications by some Member States, no fundamental changes will be made to the approval process for genetically modified plants in the EU.

In their decision, the ministers emphasised that the existing legal requirements applied to gene technology will not be modified and that GM plants should continue to be approved “without unreasonable delays”. The on-going process, in which the currently applied guidelines on safety assessments of GM plants are appraised and extended, should be intensified and accelerated. The EU Commission already has assigned this task to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The decision of the environmental ministers provides guidance for this task in the form of a series of specifications. These require better evaluation of the possible long-term effects of GM plants on the environment, such as the impact of Bt plants on bio-diversity. Furthermore, the regional environmental qualities under which a new GM plant could be cultivated should be more closely considered during the approval process.

Contrary to French demands, there will be no initial inclusion of socio-economic criteria in the approval process of GM plants. To date, the definition of such criteria remains controversial, as does the primary question of their objective measurement on a scientific foundation. General regional cultivation bans for approved GM plants also remain prohibited. As in the past, gene-technology-free zones are possible only on the basis of voluntary agreement.

Member States already may establish appropriate measures to protect nature reserves or delicate ecosystems from possible adverse effects that may be associated with specific GM plants. Planting restrictions are conceivable, as is even the prohibition of cultivation in specific cases. However, the environmental ministers stressed nonetheless that such measures must be derived from scientifically sound environmental impact assessments.

See also on GMO Compass:

• Genetically Modified Food and Feed: The EU Regulatory Process

Further information:

• Council Conclusions on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
  Environment Council Meeting, 4. Dezember 2008