Brussels, 31/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - At the close of the Montreal negotiations, which, on Saturday morning, allowed 130 countries to come to an agreement on a protocol on biosafety allowing a framework to be met, with binding rules, on the cross-border movements of live genetically modified substances, Margot Wallström, European Environment Commissioner did not conceal how pleased she was with this result, which lived up to her hopes. "This is a historic moment and a breakthrough for international agreements on trade and the environment. Together, we have lived up to our political responsibilities towards the environment and we have concluded a credible protocol at the convention on biodiversity. The international community has not only shown it takes citizens' concerns seriously but has also guaranteed the right to take duly-founded decisions on the basis of the precautionary principle, in order to protect the environment", she declared immediately after. She then went on to say: "We had high ambitions and hoped for even more substantial progress in some fields. But, be this as it may, this is a considerable step forward, for several reasons: the Protocol establishes the rights and duties for the countries that will be able to take decisions founded on the precautionary principle concerning imports of live genetically modified organisms. In addition, it enounces a fundamental principle of mutual support between the multilateral agreements on the environment and the WTO. With the protocol, we have created an international regime that will be positive for both the environment and for trade. This is major progress on the road to sustainable development.
According to the spokesperson for Margo Wallström in Brussels, the European Union has been ruled right on three points in particular which were particularly dear to her and on which negotiations had stumbled one year ago in Carthagena (Colombia) because of fierce opposition from the group of countries producing genetically engineered seeds - with the United States in the lead -, called the Miami Group. These three achievements, obtained at the price of concessions from the Miami Group are as follows: a) the fact that the Protocol is not subject to WTO rules. This guarantee is implicitly given in the introductory paragraph to the Protocol with a phrase that indicates that the protocol does not affect the rights and duties arising from other international agreements; b) the approach adopted, founded on the precautionary principle, is not only mentioned in the preliminary paragraph, but is also anchored in the body of the text, in the provisions relating to the decision-making process (Article 10); c) the guarantees provided to the importer country, in terms of information provided in the documentation accompanying the exported goods, does not only concern the genetically modified organisms to be disseminated into the environment but also commodities transported in bulk and intended for human consumption. The documentation accompanying these basic products should, as an obligation, contain the indication that they "may contain live modified organisms".
The Union did not, of course, gain satisfaction on the labelling arrangements that it insisted on for live genetically modified organisms in cross-border trade, but the parties to the protocol undertook to move towards the labelling of exported sacks within two years.
The Commission is to approve a communication on Wednesday on its interpretation of the precautionary principle that will serve as a tool for the decision-making process for risk management in all cases where there are reasonable reasons for concern and when there is not sufficient scientific proof.