For reasons of public health and environmental protection, the European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday 4 October, vetoed the import into the EU of two varieties of transgenic soybean and products containing or produced from these GMOs intended for food or feed and treated with mixtures of pesticides, including glyphosate.
Under consideration were hybrid soybean FG72 x A5547-127, which is resistant to isoxaflutole-, glyphosate- and glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides, and DAS-44406-6, which is resistant to glyphosate-, 2,4 D (D for dichlorophenol) and glufosinate ammonium-based herbicides. In both cases, the objections to the European Commission’s proposals were passed by wide majorities.
Parliament accepted the arguments advanced by its own environment committee on 28 September, notably the concerns raised by the shortcomings in the risk assessments carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (see EUROPE 11872).
The Parliamentary veto is, above all, political as it not legally binding on the European Commission. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)