EU Faces Criticism For GM Crop Decision

24 Apr 2015 --- The EU has faced heavy criticism in the wake of its announcement this week that individual member states will have the freedom to restrict, or prohibit the use of EU-authorised GMOs in food or feed on their territory.

The announcement came after an extensive review and confirms the need for changes that reflect public views and allow national governments to have a greater say on the use of EU-authorised GMOs for animal (feed) or human (food) consumption, says the EU.

Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said: "I am pleased to deliver on one of the important commitments taken by this Commission, reviewing the legislation on the decision-making process on GMOs. The Commission has listened to the concerns of many European citizens, reflected in the positions expressed by their national governments. Once adopted, today's proposal will, fully in line with the principle of subsidiarity, grant Member States a greater say as regards the use of EU- authorised GMOs in food and feed on their respective territories."

The commission said in a statement that the new approach aims to achieve the right balance between maintaining an EU authorisation system and the freedom for Member States to decide on the use of GMOs on their territory. Since it is crucial that a single risk management system is maintained - as this ensures the same level of protection throughout the EU – the current authorisation system, based on science and the labelling rules ensuring consumer choice, will not be amended. What will change is that once a GMO is authorised for use as food or feed in Europe, Member States will have the possibility to decide on whether to opt out from allowing that particular GMO to be used in their food chain.

Member States will have to justify that their opt-out measures comply with EU law, which includes the principles of the Internal Market, and EU's international obligations of which the EU's WTO obligations are an integral part. Opt-outs shall be based on legitimate reasons other than those assessed at EU level, i.e. risk to human or animal health or the environment.

This proposal mirrors and complements the rights already given to Member States in respect of GMOs for cultivation by Directive (EU) 2015/412 that entered into force earlier this month, based on a recent agreement between the European Parliament and the Council. As a result, the EU would have a consistent set of rules for GM authorisations for cultivation and for food and feed, allowing Member States’ individual concerns to be taken into account in both of these areas.

Environmental activist Greenpeace, however, opposed the decision, as did US trade negotiator Michael Froman, who saw the decision as one that gave member states opt-outs on imports of GM food and feed.

Encouraging the use of GM food and feed is in the interest of the US because much of its food production is made using GM crops. As the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership forge ahead, the US will want as many EU states as possible to allow GM derivatives on to consumer tables.

Froman said: “We are very disappointed by today's announcement of a regulatory proposal that appears hard to reconcile with the EU's international obligations. Moreover, dividing the EU into 28 separate markets for the circulation of certain products seems at odds with the EU's goal of deepening the internal market.

"At a time when the US and the EU are working to create further opportunities for growth and jobs through TTIP, proposing this kind of trade restrictive action is not constructive," he continued.

Greenpeace said the proposed reform would still allow the Commission to authorise the import of GMOs, even when a majority of national governments, the European Parliament and the public oppose them.

“The Commission’s proposal is a farce because it leaves the current undemocratic system untouched. It would allow the Commission to continue ignoring major opposition to GM crops, despite president Juncker’s promise to allow a majority of EU countries to halt Commission decisions on GMOs," said Greenpeace EU's food policy director Franziska Achterberg.