Following years of deadlock, the European Union could soon permit the development and sale of new GM crops. This follows the adoption on Thursday of new, stricter rules governing the approval of such products.
Although the rules are tougher, the fact they have been agreed at all has been welcomed by backers of biotechnology. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a move at all it鈥檚 a good thing,鈥� says Vivian Moses of CropGen, an independent think-tank funded by industry to make the case for crop biotechnology.
The move could also forestall a potentially damaging trade war with the US, which sees Europe鈥檚 opposition to GM crops as a barrier to free trade. GM crops have been in commercial limbo in Europe since 1998 when member states agreed to impose an unofficial 鈥渕oratorium鈥� on the approval and commercialisation of new GM varieties.
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The EU adopted the new rules following pressure from environmentalists, and they replace an older regime adopted in 1990. From now on, developers of GM crops must provide extra evidence that their products are unlikely to harm the environment or human health.
Authorisations for the 18 products approved before the 1998 moratorium still stand, but the 13 鈥減ending鈥� submissions since then will have to be withdrawn and resubmitted in accordance with the new rules.
鈥淭ransparent and responsible鈥�
鈥淔rom today, we have a strong basis for a transparent and responsible way of governing the use of GMOs,鈥� said European environment commissioner, Margot Wallstr枚m at the official launch of the directive, 2001/18/EC.
鈥淭he commission considers that it has fulfilled its commitment to create the conditions to re-start the authorisation procedure for GMOs,鈥� said an accompanying statement.
Environmentalists are cautiously pleased because the legislation will force much more monitoring of crops than before. 鈥淏ut there are many other things that need to be settled,鈥� says Geert Ritsema, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth International. They include labelling of GM products and liability if GM crops pollute organic and non-GM farms.
Publishing data
Companies seeking authorisation for new GM products will now also be forced to make more of their data public than before. And even when crops are on the market, companies must monitor them afterwards to check for any unforeseen consequences. Two controversial GM directives have still to be finalised, however.
One covers labelling and traceability of GM products. The most divisive proposal, advocated by the European Parliament, is for GM labelling of products even if they do not contain any detectable GM material. This would include oils derived from GM crops, for example.
Opponents such as the UK say that such labelling is impossible to monitor, and therefore impossible to enforce. Backers such as France say that such products should be labelled so consumers can avoid them.
The other outstanding directive covers feed products for farm animals. The likelihood is that meat and dairy products will not have to be labelled if they come from animals raised on GM fodder.
Both directives were discussed this week by representatives of Europe鈥檚 governments, but will have to return to the parliament later in 2002 or in early 2003 for final approval.
