EU split delays overhaul of GMO policy

Date: 25/02/1999

By Simon Coss

DEEP divisions between EU governments over how best to update the Union's rules on the sale and production of genetically modified crops and seeds have delayed a decision on the European Commission's proposals until June at the earliest.

It had been widely assumed that EU environment ministers would discuss the Commission's plans to revise the 1990 directive (90/220) on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) at their 11 March meeting. However, the item is notably absent from the agenda and the German presidency has confirmed that the plan will not now be discussed until late June.

EU officials say there are two main sticking points holding up agreement. These concern how long a licence to market a new GM product should last and how 90/220 should deal with the ethical aspects of authorising new crop strains.

On the licensing question, the Com-mission has proposed that producers of GMO crops should be required to reapply for marketing approval for their products every seven years. However, member states' reactions to this differ widely. "Some want no compulsory time limits, but would accept 15 years at a pinch. Others want to stick to seven years," said one official.

On the ethical question, some governments want 90/220 to state explicitly that a member state can refuse to approve a GM product on ethical grounds every time a company applies to licence a new strain. Luxembourg and Austria, which both have blanket bans in place on the cultivation and marketing of genetically modified crops, are the most vocal members of this faction. Other governments argue this approach would effectively allow EU governments to, in the words of one official, "ban GMOs because they do not like them".

They claim such an approach would have serious repercussions on both the functioning of the EU's single market and on international trade. "It would make the WTO banana dispute look like a storm in a teacup," said one expert.

Supporters of this second view say the ethical dimension should be dealt with by the EU's existing ethics committee, which could be called on to provide advice on an ad hoc basis.

Aside from these two major stumbling blocks, EU governments must also decide before June whether to accept amendments to the Commission's proposals for revising 90/220 called for by the European Parliament.

The report approved by MEPs contains certain suggestions, notably on making the biotechnology industry liable for any environmental damage caused by its products, which some governments are likely to find hard to swallow.

In recent months, public fears about the safety of food containing GMOs have increased dramatically. Anti-GMO fever is running particularly high in the UK at the moment, but there have also been protests against the new foods in France, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark and Greece.