1. EU about to approve genetically engineered maize with potential health risk
2. Debate on GMOs in Europe sponsored by Commission
3. Britain adds voice to criticism of EU GM crop plans
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1. EU about to approve genetically engineered maize with potential health risk
TestBiotech
https://www.testbiotech.org/node/458

The European Union Agriculture Council will on March 17 2011 deal with a market application of a so called 'stacked event' for MON 89034 × MON 88017 maize (Monsanto). Another new application for cotton GHB614 (Bayer) is on the agenda as well as renewal of application for maize 1507 (Pioneer). Testbiotech urges these applications be rejected, because necessary standards for assessing health risks are not met and recent publications show the need for further investigations.

The European Union Agriculture Council will on March 17 2011 deal with a market application of a so called 'stacked event' for MON 89034 × MON 88017 maize (Monsanto). Another new application for cotton GHB614 (Bayer) is on the agenda as well as renewal of application for maize 1507 (Pioneer). Testbiotech urges these applications be rejected, because necessary standards for assessing health risks are not met and recent publications show the need for further investigations.

New report from Testbiotech:
http://www.testbiotech.de/sites/default/files/TBT_Background_14_3_2011.pdf
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2. Debate on GMOs
Europolitics
Tuesday 15 March 2011
http://www.europolitics.info/sectorial-policies/debate-on-gmos-art298376-11.html

The European Commission will sponsor, on 17 March in Brussels, the first in a series of debates on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This first debate, focusing on GMO risk assessment and management, will be chaired by Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli. It will be attended by experts, stakeholders, members of the European Parliament and representatives of non-governmental organisations. Four sessions are planned: the independence of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and its national counterparts; applications for GMO authorisation; the draft regulation on implementing rules for GM food; and environment risk assessment of GM plants.
The programme is available at
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/index_en.htm
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3. Britain adds voice to criticism of EU GM crop plans
By Charlie Dunmore
BRUSSELS | Mon Mar 14, 2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/us-eu-gmo-cultivation-idUSTRE72D5WQ20110314

(Reuters) - Britain became the latest European Union country on Thursday to raise serious doubts over proposals to let EU governments decide individually whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops.

Several large EU countries including France, Germany and Spain have already criticized draft legislation tabled by the EU executive in July, which would allow governments to restrict or ban GM cultivation in all or part of their territories.

Speaking at an EU ministers' meeting in Brussels, Britain's farm minister Caroline Spelman questioned whether the proposals would do anything to unblock the EU approval system for GM crops, which has seen just two varieties approved for growing in more than a decade.

"The operation of the EU decision-making progress does need to be improved, but we're not convinced that the proposal will enable this to happen," Spelman told the other ministers.

A British diplomat said that while there is still no commonly agreed government position on the proposals, ministers feared that the legislation could make things more difficult for countries like the UK that want to press ahead with research into GM crops.

EU government legal experts have questioned whether national GM crop bans provided for in the European Commission's proposals would be compatible with the bloc's global trade commitments.

Spelman agreed that any bans under the proposals were unlikely to comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and the EU's own Lisbon Treaty, or stand up to legal challenges from biotech companies, farmers or non-EU countries.

LIST OF GROUNDS

The British minister also questioned a draft list of reasons that governments could use to justify cultivation bans, such as to maintain public order, which the Commission drew up in response to requests from skeptical governments.

"We're concerned that suggesting public order as possible grounds for a ban could have the unintended consequence of actually encouraging public disorder by certain groups who want to put pressure on member states to ban GMOs," Spelman said.

The EU's health and consumer Commissioner John Dalli, who oversaw the drafting of the proposals, replied that the list was non-exhaustive and could be added to and refined by EU governments in subsequent talks.
During the meeting ministers from France, Spain and Italy repeated their opposition the draft rules as they stand. German environment state secretary Katherina Reiche said simply that "we reject the EU Commission's proposals."

With the opposition of any four of the EU's five largest countries sufficient to block the proposals under the bloc's weighted voting system, the Hungarian EU presidency pledged to clarify countries' legal concerns in order to try to reach a compromise.

(Reporting by Charlie Dunmore)