Brussels, 31/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission appears determined to speed up the authorisation procedure for the Pioneer company's transgenic 1507 maize, with a debate planned for Wednesday 6 November on the subject but the Commission denies this intention. On Thursday 31 October, Frédéric Vincent, the spokesman for Commissioner Tonio Borg, confirmed that a discussion was indeed on the Commissioners' meeting agenda but he denied reports that had appeared in the press suggesting that Commissioner Borg would put forward a proposal for authorisation. According to Vincent, the European Commission's only intention is to follow up on the ruling by the EU General Court. On 26 September, the Court ruled against the Commission for failing to transfer the dossier to the Council and having therefore delayed a decision within the required deadline, in breach of EU legislation which establishes the authorisation procedure (Article 18 of Directive 2001/18/EC on the voluntary dissemination of GMOs in the environment).
In response to the press, which had asked him whether this maize, genetically modified to produce the Bt toxin that is resistant to pesticides and to resist the glufosinate ammonium herbicide, would ultimately be approved for sowing, before the 2014 European elections, Vincent replied that “there would have to be a GMO point on the College of Commissioners' agenda next Wednesday. At the end of September 2013, the General Court of the EU indicated that the Commission had not followed the required procedure a few years ago when the request for authorisation for cultivation had been made. The Court called on the Commission to provide a legal follow-up to this ruling. Therefore, next Wednesday, the College of Commissioners is will decide on what to do with regard to Pioneer 1507, but at this stage, no conclusion can be drawn”. He went on to say that, “next Wednesday, the Commission will discuss what to do with this dossier, to whom it should be sent, so that the EU can come to a decision on the GMO in question”.
At any rate, the European Commission has no intention whatsoever of requesting a new opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) even if, as Greenpeace stresses, EFSA recognised in its favourable opinion in 2011 that it had not carried out a risk analysis linked to herbicide resistance. Frédéric Vincent said that “if the College is discussing the matter and is to decide how to follow up the Maize 1507 case, it is because all the scientific guarantees have already been given. All questions that could have been raised over very many years have been raised. EFSA had all the information to hand to affirm that the GMO meets the necessary health safety and environmental criteria” (our translation).
Marco Contiero, Director of the Greenpeace European Bureau, said that, as there was no risk assessment, it would be a foolhardy decision on the part of the Commission to blindly give free rein to the maize.
In its judgment (case T-164/10), the General Court of the EU, ruling on an action brought by Pioneer (case T-139/07), underlined that “GMOs constitute a constantly evolving area of research and there is no doubt that new scientific information is likely to become available in the future. However, the Commission cannot, in a dilatory manner, repeatedly request opinions from EFSA pending the arrival of new scientific data and thereby justify its failure to submit the proposal to the Council”. (AN/transl.fl/jl)