New genetically modified crops proposal could lead to planting in Europe as of next year | Policy Review
A proposal to allow member states to ban specific
genetically modified crops from their territories looks set to have a
giant biotech-industry-friendly loophole, writes Nina Holland.
On Wednesday 28 May, European Union
countries seemed close to an agreement on the text of the proposal. And
paradoxically, this text is turning out to be rather Monsanto-friendly. A
final decision could be taken at the Environment Council on 12 June. So
how did we get from a national ban proposal to an industry-friendly
opt-out?
The awkward EU vote on Pioneer’s GM maize last February created the
feeling of urgency that something needed to change in the way GM crops
are approved. While nineteen countries voted against, and only five in
favour, the European Commission maintained its intention to give Pioneer
GM maize the go-ahead. That does not look good.
The proposal to hand back some decision powers to member states
regarding GMO approvals has been discussed on and off for some time now.
In July 2011 the European Parliament voted on this text
that could have given powers to national governments to ban the
cultivation of GM crops. Of course initially the biotech firms were very
opposed to the idea of national bans. But the current text clearly has
the biotech lobby’s fingerprints all over it. Now they see it as an
opportunity to break the legal and political stalemate and finally get
their GM crops growing in Europe’s fields, despite their unpopularity.
