Moves by the European Commission to abandon an unofficial moratorium on GM crop development in Europe and expedite authorisations in exchange for tighter controls have been condemned by opponents of GM foods and green interests across the EU.
The Green Party has called on the Government to resist the changes and retain the moratorium in the face of an "irresponsible" attempt to force the issue.
The Commission plans to apply tough new rules governing the labelling and traceability of GM crops as soon as this is agreed by EU governments and the European Parliament, but before they legally enter into force. This could be as soon as the end of the year, and would avoid waiting for the legislation to be transposed into national laws, a process which can take a further two years.
The EU's authorisation process for GM crops has been in deadlock since mid-1998, when environment ministers imposed a de facto moratorium on new approvals until new laws were drafted. "We have already waited too long to act. The moratorium is illegal and not justified", the European Environment Commissioner, Ms Margot Wallstrom, said yesterday in Brussels.
"The value of biotechnology is poorly appreciated in Europe and there's a risk the biotechnology industry will not develop", she warned.
Since 1992, some 18 GM products, including crops, vaccines and flowers, have been approved for commercial use in the EU. There are 14 applications pending under the old legislation in the form of directive 90-220, but none has been authorised since 1998.
The Commission has proposed what it calls "a strategy to regain public trust in the approval procedure for genetically-modified organisms (GMOs)".
The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr David Byrne, said that the objective was to promote a balanced approach to biotechnology and, in particular, to GMOs. "The public needs to be assured of the highest protection of public health, and of the environment, including the protection of biodiversity." There was also a need to be able to make an informed choice with regard to GMO products. "Our approval system is strictly science-based. Consumers should be assured and informed that we are paying attention to all questions they have raised."
The Commission wished to signal that it was necessary to respond to public concern with firm action. "Not to act does not constitute a solution, but would leave the EU unprepared and lagging behind in the handling of GMOs", Mr Byrne said.
Ms Patricia McKenna, the Green Party MEP, said that rushing through implementation of new legislation and lifting the moratorium on GMOs was an insult to the many European consumers who had legitimate fears about the effects of GMOs in their food and their environment. The Commission was giving in to pressure from industry, she added.
She claimed that authorisation would come before key proposals on environmental liability and long-term monitoring had been passed.
Independent MEP Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon said that the move amounted to "a piecemeal exercise which does not deal with the whole issue in a coherent way".
The Green Party's environment spokeswoman, Ms Mary White, said that the Commission had acted as if it could "con" the public into accepting products which were not wanted by consumers. The Government should stand up to this "subtle intimidation" and keep its ban in place, she said.
--Additional reporting: Reuters
