European Member States Oppose GM Crop Cultivation

30 Jan 2017 --- The European Commission’s proposal to authorize the first new GM crops for cultivation since the late nineties have failed to achieve the majority vote, with member states showing strong opposition to the plan.

Late last week EU governments opposed the Commission’s plan to allow GM maize types from Syngenta and Dow-Pioneer - with the technical names BT11 and 1507 - to be cultivated, as well as the renewal of the only GM maize currently allowed to be grown in Europe, Monsanto’s Mon810.

These crops have been genetically modified to produce insecticide in their own cells and the two new crops can tolerate glufosinate, a herbicide produced by Bayer. 

A majority of national governments rejected the proposal but failed to get the qualified majority necessary to ban the GM crops outright. It is now up to the Commission to decide whether to reject the three crops or table another vote with governments.

A qualified majority requires 55% of member states representing 65% of the population. Under EU rules the Commission can now either reject the GM authorizations, change their details and ask governments again, or send them to an appeal committee.

"The European Commission has failed to get political support for GM crops since the biotech industry first tried to push them through in 1998. President Juncker promised to make decisions about GM crops more democratic, and so it is now time for the Commission to reject them once and for all. This saga is distracting us from the real debate we need on how we make farming resilient to climate change, save family farms and stop the destruction of nature. It's time to close our countryside to GM crops and move on," says Mute Schimpf, food campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe.

A breakdown of the voting is as allows:
For the renewal of Mon810, 12 member states voted against the proposal: Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Poland and Slovenia. 

10 member states voted in In favor: Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Finland, Sweden and the UK. 

Six member states abstained: Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia.
Authorization of 1507 and Bt 11 is as follows: 

13 member states voted against: Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, France, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden.

Eight countries voted in favor: Estonia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Finland and the UK, while seven abstained: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia.