Brussels, 14/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - As predicted in certain quarters, the blessing given by the Parliament on Tuesday 13 January to the formal adoption of the directive which will give the member states the strictly regulated option to ban or limit on their territory the cultivation of GMOs authorised in the EU will not draw a line under the pro- and anti-GMO debate (see EUROPE 11229). The range of reactions to the text from NGOs and the industry bears witness to this. The reasons which can be invoked to justify national restriction or prohibition measures are described by some as a golden opportunity to ban these crops, by others as an illusory freedom of choice in the absence of sufficient legal solidity for the future national prohibition decisions, and by yet others as a hindrance to European innovation.
FoE calls on governments to ban all GM maize. The environmental NGO Friends of the Earth Europe (FOE) is delighted to note that for the first time, the text which has been approved will allow governments to ban the cultivation of entire categories of GMOs on their soil and urges the member states to make use of their new prerogatives to ban all cultivation of GM maize on which authorisation within the EU is currently pending. “While not perfect, this new law allows governments to shut the door on biotech crops in Europe and shift farming in a more sustainable direction”, explains Mute Schimpf, expert on food questions at FoE. She went on to stress that the “public has continually rejected GM foods and increasingly supports greener farming and local food”.
Not enough legal certainty, says Greenpeace. Greenpeace regrets the fact that the text will not allow member states to invoke negative environmental impacts in order to justify a ban. “This new legislation is supposed to give the member states legally watertight ways of blocking the cultivation of GMOs on their territory, but it gives biotech companies the power to negotiate with elected governments and excludes the strongest legal argument to ban these crops: the proof of the existence of environmental damage”, said Marco Contiero, agriculture policy expert at the European office of Greenpeace.
EuropaBio fears stop sign for innovation. EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, sees the text approved by the European Parliament as a “stop sign for innovation in Europe” and a sign of the fragmentation of the single market.
“Member states will receive a licence to ban safe products which have been approved at European level, and they will be allowed to base these bans on non-scientific grounds. This sets a dangerous precedent for the internal market and sends a negative signal to innovative industries considering investing in Europe. European researchers and farmers have lost access to this key-enabling technology and the chance to grow more sustainable crops and remain competitive globally”, said Jeff Rowe, chair of the Agri-Food Council of EuropaBio. (AN)