GMO vote prompts call for swift action on liability

Date: 20/04/2000

By Renée Cordes

EURO MPs are stepping up pressure on the European Commission to come forward with details of its plans for new environmental liability legislation following last week's crunch vote on the laws governing genetically modified organisms.

The clamour for swift action comes after the European Parliament backed away from demanding that the directive governing the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment be changed to make producers strictly liable for any damage caused by their crops.

The assembly, which had called for a rigorous liability regime in its first reading on the proposals for revising the directive known as 90/220, softened its stance in the face of strong opposition to the move from centre-right MEPs. They argued that GM crops should not be singled out for special liability rules and should instead be included within the scope of forthcoming proposals for general EU-wide legislation.

After the vote, Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström reiterated that she intended to come forward with those proposals before the end of next year. But UK Labour MEP David Bowe, the Parliament's rapporteur on the GMO legislation, insisted that she should set out her approach and a firm timetable for action soon. "What we are looking for is clear commitments on liability and how it will be enforceable," he said. "It is our job to continue to push on this."

However, Bowe said he felt that overall, the Parliament had reached a workable compromise, adding that this had put it in "a very good negotiating position for the next stage in the process" - the start of conciliation talks with EU governments next month to settle the remaining differences between the two sides.

Officials believe it should now be possible for those talks to be wrapped up fairly quickly, given the Parliament's decision not to demand strict liability rules and to reject calls for a ban on the use of antibiotic resistant genes. MEPs opted instead for these substances to be phased out by 2005 if it was shown that they might have adverse effects.

The Parliament also voted down amendments which would have required member states and the Commission to prevent gene transfer from GMOs to other organisms in the environment, calling instead for a detailed assessment to be made of their impact.

Industry lobby group Europabio welcomed the outcome of the Parliament's vote, saying it provided the basis for a clear, predictable and certain regulatory framework for GMOs. The biotechnology sector had argued that a separate liability regime would impose a huge financial and administrative burden on companies in this nascent sector.

Euro MPs are stepping up pressure on the European Commission to come forward with details of its plans for new environmental liability legislation following the recent crunch vote on the laws governing genetically modified organisms.