Paris insists GM ‘loopholes’ must be closed

Date: 06/07/2000

By Renée Cordes

FRANCE is calling for a radical overhaul of EU laws governing the labelling and monitoring of products containing genetically modified organisms, arguing that the existing rules and pending proposals do not address all the potential problems.

In a confidential memorandum likely to be discussed by environment ministers at an informal meeting next week, Paris says the current regulatory framework for labelling GM seeds and products containing GMOs is "fragmentary" and "inadequate".

It argues that while existing EU law lays down clear rules for labelling GM seeds, it does not provide any guidance for those contaminated by GMOs. The French paper argues that the best way to tackle this problem is to scrap the rules currently contained in various pieces of Union legislation and draft a completely new legislative framework. It is also pressing for tough new monitoring rules for GM products.

The move comes as EU governments are preparing to begin conciliation talks with the European Parliament in September aimed at reaching a compromise on proposals to update the 90/220 directive which governs the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment. The European Commission is also pressing ahead with a planned revision of separate Union legislation governing GMOs and other novel foods.

Despite the progress made on these dossiers, France argues that there are a number of legal loopholes which must be closed. "Although the EU has gradually built up a regulatory system in this area, the existing mechanism contains several voids and is therefore not entirely reliable," states its report.

Biotechnology experts have welcomed France's attempts to introduce greater legal clarity to the Union's GM regime. "If I, as a single company, want to move my product from the farm all the way through to the finished product, I would probably spend half my budget on legal fees because I do not know what regulation applies," said one Brussels-based lawyer. "The French paper, in my opinion, defines all the problems and proposes a completely logical solution."

The move to bolster the regulatory regime has been prompted in part by concern over seeds contaminated with GMOs entering the EU market. In May, seed firm Advanta announced that it had unknowingly sold oilseed rape seed from Canada containing up to 1% of GM seeds in five member states, two of which subsequently destroyed all the affected crops.

At next week's ministerial meeting, France's Dominique Voynet is also expected to argue again that the Union should continue to block the authorisation of new GM crops even after the new, stricter version of 90/220 comes into force.

"The new directive is not strong enough for us to lift the moratorium," she said last month, insisting the de facto ban should stay until the EU introduces legislation making producers liable for any damage caused to the environment by their products.

France is calling for a radical overhaul of EU laws governing the labelling and monitoring of products containing genetically modified organisms, arguing that the existing rules and pending proposals do not address all the potential problems.