| Author (Person) | Akule, Dace |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.24, 1.7.04 |
| Publication Date | 01/07/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Dace Akule Date: 01/07/04 THE enlarged European Union is just as split on genetically modified organisms (GMO) as was the old EU of 15 states, judging by Monday's (28 June) meeting of environment ministers. The Council meeting could not agree on authorizing NK603, a strain of GM maize developed by Monsanto, for import and for processing. But nor were there sufficient states against the European Commission's proposal for authorization to block it. For the second time in recent weeks it will be left to the Commission to approve a GMO. The meeting was the first occassion on which the ten new member states had participated in a debate on GMOs in the Council of Ministers, so was being closely watched for indications of their attitudes on what is one of the most controversial issues in food safety and trade. However, the Irish presidency did not call a formal vote on the proposal to authorize NK603, instead inviting the old EU-15 states to state whether they had shifted their stance since the application was considered at the regulatory committee. Some but not all of the new EU states expressed an opinion on GMOs, leaving delegations and observers to speculate about their alignments. They concluded that Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania opposed the introduction of the GMO maize. The Czech Republic and Estonia were in favour. Slovakia and Slovenia were abstaining. A spokesman for the Polish government said afterwards that Poland was in favour of the application and Malta said it was against. Under the transitional system of weighting votes which applies until the end of October, this division of the accession countries is evenly balanced with 16 votes in favour of authorization, 15 against and six abstentions. The deadlock in Council seems likely to continue. Among the old EU-15, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Italy and Luxembourg are opposing GM authorizations, while Germany, Belgium and Spain are abstaining. In May, after the EU-15 had divided on the issue, the Commission authorized a Bt11 canned sweet corn to be sold in the EU, ending the moratorium on GMO authorizations that had held since 1998. If member states' ministers do not reject a GMO application by qualified majority voting, the Commission can take the decision to authorize the application itself. A spokesman for the environmental campaign group Greenpeace which opposes GMO approvals said it expected the Commission to "disregard the lack of support from member states" and approve the application. Although approval of NK603 is expected from the Commission within two to four weeks, it will not take practical effect for some months. A separate application to authorize NK603 is being made under the novel food and feed rules and that application will not reach the regulatory committee and then the Council until the Autumn. Although environmentalist groups around Europe expressed satisfaction with the ministers' failure to give the new GMO maize the go-ahead, many were hoping that the governments of the ten new member states would be more reluctant to allow GMOs into their markets. Green groups in the new member states are facing up to the reality that their governments cannot close their markets to GMOs. "Unfortunately, this is how it is, and it is very sad," said Elita Kalnina, the vice-president of the Friends of the Earth Latvia. She expressed dismay at the fact that while Latvia has a prime minister from a Green party, Indulis Emsis, the only Green premier in the EU, decisions on GMOs cannot be taken at a national level. In Latvia, Kalnina said, people are afraid and suspicious, especially of vegetables and fruits. "Many people think that all tomatoes sold during winters are genetically modified. They are also worried about soya products." Until now there has been no labelling on GMO ingredients in products in Latvia because the authorities claimed there was "nothing to label", she said. In Lithuania Jurgita Macionaite, project manager of an environmental information centre, said that overall attitudes to GMOs were negative, even though a real debate on the issue had not taken place. "The main reason [why the attitude is negative] is that they think of GMOs as not being safe," she said. Contrary views came from Lucjan Szponar of the Institute for Food and Nutrition in Poland. "When I ask [consumer protection groups] for scientific arguments for their worries, there is no answer," he said. Part of society was rather sceptical, he added, but assumed that as soon as GMO food appeared on the market "it will be cheaper and these people will act against what they've preached". Eurobarometer has not yet conducted a survey on attitudes towards GMOs in the new member states. European Union Environment Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 28 June 2004 failed to reach agreement on authorising NK603, a strain of genetically modified maize, produced by Monsanto. |
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