In the name of protecting public health and the environment, the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, on Thursday 29 October, opposed the authorisation in the EU of GMO varieties - a soybean from Syngenta and hybrid maize from Monsanto.
MEPs also pointed out the undemocratic nature of the authorisation procedure, as they do in their systematic objections to any new authorisation of GMOs in the EU.
The objections concern both GMOs and products they contain, namely:
- maize MON 87427 × MON 89034 × MIR162 × NK603 and genetically modified maize combining two or three of the single events MON 87427, MON 89034, MIR162 and NK603. MEPs argued that this maize, a cross between five GMOs, confers triple tolerance to glyphosate-containing herbicides and produces three insecticidal proteins that are toxic to certain butterfly larvae. They also invoked the failure to take into account concerns expressed by Member States about shortcomings in the EFSA assessment, in particular the failure to take into account potential interactions with environmental conditions and the lack of assessment of herbicide residues and break-down products.
- soybean SYHT0H2 (SYN-ØØØH2-5) from Syngenta Crop Protection AG, resistant to glufosinate ammonium, classified as toxic to reproduction, and to the herbicidal active substances mesotrione, suspected to be an endocrine disrupter.
Now Parliament will have its say. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)