Although only MON 810 maize is cultivated in the EU, the European Commission and a few member states will seek to obtain authorisation over the next few weeks for the cultivation of two other varieties of transgenic maize – DuPont Pioneer's 1507 and Syngenta's Bt 11 – and to renew the authorisation for growing MON 810 in the EU.
Due in part to the fact that two of these kinds of maize are herbicide-resistant, MEPs at the European Parliament's environment committee in Strasbourg on Monday evening 3 October fiercely opposed authorising the European Commission's proposals, for reasons of protecting the environment and public health. They call on the European Parliament to do likewise.
Following the line advocated by their co-rapporteurs Bart Staes ( Greens/EFA), Guillaume Balas (S&D), Lynn Boylan (GUE/NGL), Eleonora Evi (EFDD), and Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP), the environment committee MEPs approved the five objections to the authorisation proposals for the following crops: - genetically modified 1507 seeds Bt11 (SYN-BTØ11-1) (objection approved by 37 votes in favour, 18 against, 1 abstention); - genetically modified 1507 maize (DAS-Ø15Ø7-1) (39 votes in favour, 17 against); - renewed marketing authorisation for cultivating genetically modified maize seeds MON 810 (MON-ØØ81Ø-6) (37 votes in favour, 19 against); - renewal of the marketing authorisation for genetically modified maize products MON 810 (MON-ØØ81Ø-6) (39 votes for the objection, 17 against); - marketing of products containing genetically modified cotton 281-24-236 × 3006-210-23 × MON 88913(DAS-24236-5×DAS-21Ø23-5×MON-88913-8), consisting of this cotton or products derived from it (37 votes for the objection, 19 against). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)