Dimas at loggerheads with colleagues over GM maize

The possible environmental risks of growing genetically modified (GM) crops are not being assessed under existing scientific procedures, according to Stavros Dimas, the European commissioner for the environment.

Draft decisions from the Commission’s environment department say that GM crops should not be approved until new methods have been developed for assessing long-term risks and the effects on birds and butterflies.

His argument puts Dimas and the environment department on a collision course with his colleagues, particularly in the trade, enterprise and agriculture departments.

Before being allowed for import into the EU market or for cultivation, GM products have to undergo a safety assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the independent EU agency. EFSA evaluates all the available scientific evidence for health and environmental risks from GM and advises the Commission on whether to propose the product for authorisation.

Following a six-year moratorium on GM approvals in the EU, from 1998 to 2004, biotech crops have only been approved for import. No GM crop has been approved for EU cultivation since 1998.

But applications have been made to cultivate two maize varieties, Syngenta’s BT11 and 1507, which is developed jointly by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont, and Dow AgroSciences’ unit Mycogen Seeds, both of which EFSA says are safe.

The drafts from the environment department, which are still being debated internally at the Commission but have been leaked, argue that there should not be a change in policy.

"Adequate risk management measures cannot be taken at this stage and a more comprehensive risk assessment is necessary," say both draft decisions. In particular, the drafts claim there is still scientific "debate" about "the effects of GM plants on non-target organisms [including butterflies and birds] as well as their potential long-term effects".

If adopted by the college of commissioners, the proposals could set a precedent for upcoming GM authorisation decisions. A decision on the cultivation of a GM potato, developed by German chemicals group BASF, is expected soon from the Commission.

Any decision not to approve BT11 and 1507 would also raise questions about GM crops approved for cultivation before the moratorium.

Sources close to the talks say that Dimas is struggling to win support from the other 26 commissioners, suggesting that his proposal to block approvals of GM cultivation will not be published.

Statistics published on Monday (29 October) suggest increased support for GM crops from EU farmers. The statistics, from EuropaBio, an umbrella group for the biotech industry, show a 77% increase in GM plantings since last year.

The EU still grows only a fraction of the GM crops seen in the US: 110,000 hectares, compared to 55 million hectares in the US. EuropaBio said that more farmers could be tempted to join the increased interest in biotech cultivation, because of the high crop yield associated with GM.

But clear signs of GM opposition from the environment commissioner will bolster environmental pressure for the EU to rethink its biotech assessment procedure. Italy, with support from Austria, at an Environment Council yesterday (30 October) asked for a suspension of all GM authorisations while EFSA’s role is re-examined.

Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, executive director of EFSA, said: "It is important to make clear that our risk assessment procedure is one of the most robust and severe in the world."

She said that the food safety authority had many of the world’s leading GM experts on its panel, and was constantly working with member states to expand the scope of its risk assessment methodology.

The possible environmental risks of growing genetically modified (GM) crops are not being assessed under existing scientific procedures, according to Stavros Dimas, the European commissioner for the environment.