EU Governance of GMOs

This book presents a constructive exploration of the dilemmas the EU faces in regulating the risks of the modern world. It examines the European framework applicable to commercial releases of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) which was adopted between 2001 and 2004 primarily in response to the crisis that surrounded the use of these products in the EU, and it assesses the regulatory character of this reform and its components.

In order to complete this appraisal, the book also covers the current regulatory and political developments (until 2010) that have followed the adoption of the new regime as well as the changes resulting from the Treaty of Lisbon, which can affect the regime.

The author situates the problems of the EU GMO regime in the broader context of 'post-state' regulation and discusses them in the light of some of the governance theories that were developed to respond in part to the dilemmas of risk regulation. Accordingly, the book contains a systemic analysis of the EU rules pertinent to GM products, the new authorisation procedures for GMO marketing and the new system for post-approval control of commercialised products, as well as an evaluation of the developed solutions. This examination reveals that the regime embodies different regulatory modes introduced by the EU which are combined in various forms in a way that frequently influences the adequacy of the adopted measures.

The conclusion stemming from these findings suggests that the most appropriate solution for GMO policy in the EU is a reflexive combination of various regulatory approaches by policy-makers which will allow for the reinforcement of their functions and the accommodation of different, often contradictory, policy needs.