European Parliament Votes To Extend Ban on GMOs

By Theodora Filis

European Member states could be given the right to ban genetically modified crops on environmental grounds under proposals put forward this week by the European Parliament's Environment Committee. Members voted to add “environmental impacts” to a list of grounds on which European Union (EU) countries could either ban or restrict genetically modified organisms (GMOs) usage.

At present, EU member states are only able to restrict genetically modified GMO crop cultivation under strict conditions, as authorization licenses are valid across the 27-country bloc, in accordance with the principles of the EU's single market.

France's Corinne Lepage, draftswomen for the rules, said it sent a clear signal to the commission. "The EU authorization system should be maintained but it should be acknowledged that some agricultural and environmental impacts, as well as socio-economic impacts linked to contamination, can be cited by member states to justify a ban or restriction on GMO cultivation," she said.

A few months earlier the European Commission had suggested that GMOs could be banned by individual countries only for moral or cultural reasons, but the European Parliament's environment committee has voted to extend the criteria.

Greenpeace said the "voice of reason" had prevailed. Its EU agriculture policy adviser Stefanie Hundsdorfer added: "Environmental impacts are a major danger of GM crops and including these into law will help governments ban them from Europe's fields. Without these grounds, national bans would be in danger of being overturned by biotech companies in court."

All member states will be allowed to take mandatory measures against GM contamination, and biotech companies must now give access to material required for independent research into any potential risks.

The Commission said countries should not use environmental or health grounds to justify bans because these were already taken into account during the EU safety approval process, which is not altered by the draft legislation.

EU governments including France, Britain, and Germany had already signaled their opposition to the Commission's proposals, citing fears that they breach world trade rules and could lead to legal challenges by biotech companies, exporting countries, and EU farmers.

The draft rules must be jointly approved by EU governments and legislators before becoming law.

A vote on the environment committee's amendments and other proposed changes to the draft legislation will be held in June.