Brussels, 18/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - Although environmentalists hailed the measures proposed by the European Commission to improve risk assessment and to make GMO (genetically modified organisms) authorisation decisions more transparent within the EU (EUROPE 9173), all urge the Commission to go further still. They call for authorisation to be suspended until the new approach recommended by the Commission has been implemented to enlarge and consolidate the scientific base of opinions issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on GMOs, whether the latter are applying for authorisation or have already received approval from EFSA.
The Greens/EFA at the European Parliament therefore call for “a new moratorium” on GMOs in the EU, the time it takes for the EFSA to carry out a long term scientific re-reading of the toxicological studies relating to food GMOs. In a press release, Marie-Anne Isler Béguin and Gérard Ornesta, French Green members, give the following reasons for their demands: “The new Commission proposals are interesting in so far as they aim to make long term toxicological studies compulsory before decisions are taken on whether a food GMO is acceptable for the Union or not. The current toxicological studies on GMOs are particularly unsatisfactory at the scientific and statistical level. This is particularly true for GMO MON863, Bt176, Bt11 and colza MS1 - 1-2-3-4-5 Rfl. The Greens/EFA Group therefore calls on the Commission (…/…) to urge EFSA to carry out a long-term re-reading of the toxicological studies. Pending these decisions, we call on the Commission to freeze all imports and all new GMO authorisations on EU territory”.
Environmental NGOs all think along the same lines. Eric Gall from Greenpeace says: “The European Commission has taken a positive step by seeking to improve GMO risk assessment in the EU but it must make sure that the European Food Safety Authority is immediately subject to mandatory guidelines on how to evaluate the risks of GMOs. The GMO authorisation process should be suspended pending this change and previous opinions of the EFSA on GMOs should be re-assessed”. Commenting on the new opinions expressed by EFSA which believes the safeguard clauses applied by five Member States do not have any scientific basis, Mr Gall adds: “By publishing its scientific opinion on national bans today, the EFSA has proved that it is following its own agenda and will continue to resist change”. According to Greenpeace, the public should be given full access to data submitted by companies that seek to market their GMOs in Europe, and that a mandatory regime should be set up to define the quality and amount of data to be presented by the company, as well as the assessment method. Friends of the Earth considers the Commission should be congratulated for having recognised that there is a problem with EFSA, but that it should go further. “The Food Authority has for too long sided with the biotech industry and ignored any research or opinions that questioned the safety of genetically modified foods. The Commission should now suspend all new approvals until public and environmental safety can be guaranteed”, Adrian Bebb said.
EFSA invites Commissioner Dimas to debate on GMOs
EFSA's reaction was to invite Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas to a meeting in Parma (where it has its base) for a detailed briefing on its scientific approach and procedures when it comes to questions of food safety, and to discuss the risk assessment procedure for GMOs. EFSA would also like to discuss issues raised in its operational evaluation report (Ed.: an independent report commissioned by its administrative council to identify possible improvements). In a press release diffused on 12 April, EFSA notes its willingness to enter into dialogue, asserting: “As an open and transparent scientific organisation, EFSA takes any criticism seriously and invites those who may not agree with the opinions to debate scientific issues in an open way. In line with this policy, EFSA invited the NGOs for a meeting in February in Parma, and has invited national experts to participate in a meeting on GMO risk assessment and the input of Member States in this process on May 15 in Brussels. Mid-2005, EFSA started with the process of bringing more transparency to its scientific assessment (…). The need for this was also discussed in the Environment Council of March 9” (EUROPE 9150). “In collaboration with the European Commission and the Member States, EFSA will continue to fulfil its regulatory tasks being open to possibilities of scientific and procedural improvements”, the press release concludes.