Two S&D MEPs, Belgium's Marc Tarabella and France's Eric Andrieu, announced on Wednesday 9 January that they had sent a priority parliamentary question to the European Commission the day before regarding the Monsanto GMO maize that was authorised in the EU.
They want the Commission to explain its position on the authorisation of this glyphosate-hyper-resistant transgenic maize, which was authorised for importation on 19 December for human and animal consumption - or even to suspend this authorisation.
The issue: a lack of product risk assessment, including the risks to the immune system, and the lack of sufficient data - recognised by EFSA - concluding on the safety of herbicide residues (see EUROPE 12166, 12163).
“Once again, the Commission is ignoring the precautionary principle”, says Marc Tarabella. “This decision goes against the overhaul of the pesticide authorisation system that the Commission itself proposed and that was approved by Parliament on 11 December”, Mr Andrieu added.
Referring to Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which stipulates that “EU environmental policy shall aim for a high level of protection and shall be based on the precautionary principle and the principle of preventive action”, the two Members ask: 1) Why would the Commission maintain this product’s importation authorisation? 2) Should it not rather suspend it, in view of the health risks it poses to 500 million Europeans?
The Commission will have three weeks to respond. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)