GM crops, biodiversity and the European agri-environment: regulatory regime lacunae and revision

The introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops for commercial planting approval and importation under the European Union's (EU's) regulatory process has led to an increasingly visible political debate over the potential impacts of these crops upon the European agri-environment. The potential impacts of GM crops upon biodiversity and farming in the wider European agri-environment are presented, and related to the gaps in the EU's regulatory regime under Directive 90/220. The current revision of the regulatory Directive 90/220 up to the Common Position stage, as agreed by the Council of Ministers, offers some important changes to the environmental risk assessment of the impact of GM crops upon biodiversity and farming. However, the inclusion of wider socio-economic impacts upon agriculture remains incomplete, and such impacts are likely to remain on the political agenda.