EU to push for the cultivation of new GM crops

It is currently unclear if the Council of Environment Ministers meeting on 11 June 2012 will discuss once more the proposal for more rights for member states to ban the cultivation of GM crops. The Danish presidency is leading these discussions and has not yet made a statement as to whether it will try once more to get an agreement with the 27 member states, Friends of the Earth Europe reports.

The European Commission is waiting for the outcome of this debate. If there is an agreement on national bans then it is likely that new authorisations will only start later. In this case the Commission is likely to wait for the European Parliament to agree in a second reading which would happen later in the year or even next spring.
 

However, without any major changes in positions from member states, it is the view of Friends of the Earth that it unlikely that any agreement will be made. In this case, the Commission has indicated that it will start re-authorisations of GM crops, possibly as soon as July 2012. In this case the earliest date for a vote about the authorisation of the new GM maize will be 2 July 2012 at the regular meeting of national experts in the Standing Committee meeting. Six GM maize varieties have positive opinions of EFSA and can therefore be voted for in the Standing Committee.

Re-authorisation of Mon810, Monsanto, Bt crops with tolerance to European corn borer, banned in 6 member states, re-authorisation is pending since 2009. More information is available here: http://www.testbiotech.de/en/node/27

BT 11, Syngenta, tolerance to glufosinate and tolerance to European corn borer, pending since 2005, with several updated EFSA opinions in the meantime. EFSA stated that the glufosinate tolerance is just used as a marker gene and therefore did not assess the herbicide tolerance in its opinions. More information: http://www.testbiotech.de/node/643 and here http://www.testbiotech.de/en/node/204

1507, Pioneer Hi-Bred, tolerance to glufosinate and European corn borer, pending since 2005 with several updated EFSA opinions in the meantime. EFSA stated that the glufosinate tolerance is just used as a marker gene and therefore did not assess the herbicide tolerance in its opinions. More information: http://www.testbiotech.de/en/node/543

NK603, Monsanto, tolerance to glyphosate. More information: http://www.testbiotech.de/node/39

GA21, Syngenta, tolerance to glyphosate, pending since end 2011. More information: http://www.testbiotech.de/en/node/205 and http://www.testbiotech.org/node/32

MON88017, Monsanto, tolerance to corn rootworms and glyphosate. More information: http://www.testbiotech.de/en/node/560
 

The Commission intends to start with Bt maize because it might be less controversial than herbicide tolerant GM crops, according to Friends of the Earth. Whilst EFSA and the Commission assume that two of pending GM maize varieties contain herbicide tolerance only as ‘marker gene’ and therefore did not assess them as herbicide tolerant, Friends of the Earth Europe informed the Commission that at least the GM maize 1507 is marketed as herbicide tolerant in the USA. In the coming weeks, FoEE will finalise specific critique papers for GM maize 1507.

Friends of the Earth Europe