The EU's 25 national governments failed to back a Brussels proposal to open Europe's door to imports of Monsanto’s NK603 maize as a 'novel food'.

"The European Commission has now failed seven times in a row to get enough support to approve new genetically modified foods. Their position is increasingly untenable and clearly incompatible with the wishes of the citizens and Governments of Europe. It is time that they put the welfare of the European public before the business interests of the biotechnology industry." - Adrian Bebb, FoE Europe (item 1)

"This situation raises serious questions about whether or when the EU's moratorium on biotech products will, in fact, come to an end." - US officials
(item 2)

1.EU halts GM maize import
2.US dismay as EU fails to agree GM - again
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1.EU halts GM maize import
European Commission fails in 7th attempt
Press Release Monday 19th July 2004

Brussels, 19 July. EU agriculture ministers today failed to support the European Commission's proposals to allow the import into the EU of a genetically modified (GM) maize made by the US company Monsanto. This is the seventh time in a row that the Commission has failed to win support from the member states for a GM product. Friends of the Earth have called the Commissions position on GM foods "untenable" (1)

The maize, called NK603, has been engineered to resist Monsanto's own herbicide (called RoundUp). Last month the Commission failed to get the qualified majority it needed for the NK603 to be used as animal feed.

Today's vote was for its use as a human food. However after it became clear that there would be no qualified majority there was no official vote and so the position of individual countries is unclear.

Friends of the Earth urged the agriculture ministers to reject Monsanto's GM maize since:

* There has only been an analysis of the short-term effects on human and animal health. There has been no analysis of the long-term effects on subsequent generations and the effects on health sensitive consumers. This is in breach of article 14 (4) of EU Regulation 178/2002.

* There has been insufficient analysis of allergenicity. It is unacceptable that EFSA has dismissed the legitimate concerns raised by several Member States, about the suitability of the approach used for allergenicity testing. EFSA has also neglected a recent OECD report that demonstrates that maize can cause allergic reactions. (2)

Adrian Bebb of Friends of the Earth Europe said:

"The European Commission has now failed seven times in a row to get enough support to approve new genetically modified foods. Their position is increasingly untenable and clearly incompatible with the wishes of the citizens and Governments of Europe. It is time that they put the welfare of the European public before the business interests of the biotechnology industry."

Contact: Adrian Bebb +40 1609 490 1163 (mobile)

Notes

(1) Votes on GMO approvals by member states

8 December 2003. Vote on BT11 at the Standing Committee on Food and Chain and Animal Health. Result: no qualified majority (QM). {in favour ES, IE, NL, FI, SW, UK; against: DK, GR, FR, LU, AT, PT; abstentions BE, DE, IT}

18 February 2004 ; Vote on NK 603 (C/ES/00/01) for import and use in feed and industrial processing at the Standing Committee of Release of GMOs into the Environment. Result: no QM {in favour ES, BE, FI, FR, IT, NL PT, SW, UK; against: LU, AT, DK, GR, IT, Abstention DE}

26 April Vote on BT11 at the Council of Agriculture. Result: no QM. {in favour: IE, NL, FI, SW, UK, IT; against: DK, GR, FR, LU, AT, PT, abstentions : BE, DE, ES}

30 April. Vote on NK 603 (NL 13/08/2002) for food. at the Standing Committee on Food and Chain and Animal Health. Result: no QM. {in favour IT, IE, NL, FI, SW, UK, FR, BE; against: DK, GR, FR, AT, PT, abstentions ES, DE }

16 June. Vote on GT 73 for import and use in feed and industrial processing at the Standing Committee of Release of GMOs into the Environment. Results: no QM {in favour: BE, CZ, FI, FR, NL. LV, PT, SK, SW, against: AT, CY, DK, EE, GR, HU, IT, MT, LT, LU, PL, UK, abstentions: DE, IE, ES, SI)

28 June. Indicative vote on NK 603 (C/ES/00/01) for import and use in feed and industrial processing at the council of Environment Ministers no QM {in favour: CZ, EE, FI, FR, IE, NL, LV, PL, PT, SW, UK against: AT, CY, DK, GR, HU, IT, MT, LT, LU abstentions: BE, DE, ES, SK, SI)

(2) For a detailed FoEE briefing on genetically modified maize NK 603, see:
http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/pending/nk603briefing.pdf
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2.US dismay as EU fails to agree GM - again
http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200407/d51fe866-dddd-408e-96b8-3c1355b0d5ad.htm

A decision by Europe's agriculture ministers not to allow imports of genetically modified maize raises the spectre of a continued EU freeze on biotech, warn US officials.

The EU's 25 national governments failed to back a Brussels proposal to open Europe's door to imports of Monsanto’s NK603 maize as a 'novel food'.

The US biotech company is seeking EU authorisation for NK603 as a food product; the maize has been modified to tolerate a Monsanto herbicide.

A Luxembourg meeting of environment ministers, under an EU labelling of GM products procedure, on June 28 also failed to give the green light to the maize.

The latest failure to authorise a GM product has not impressed Washington.

US officials have told EUpolitix.com that the decision raises a "serious" question mark over an EU commitment to end a five-year moratorium on biotech crops.

"This demonstrates that the EU still lacks a functioning, objective, and predictable approval process that considers applications for agricultural products of modern biotechnology without undue delay," Stan Cohen, senior agricultural attache, at the US Mission to the EU, told this website.

"This is particularly true when so many applications that have already received positive scientific evaluations continue to await approval."

"This situation raises serious questions about whether or when the EU's moratorium on biotech products will, in fact, come to an end."

With no clear 'yes' from governments, the buck has now been passed back to the European Commission and Europe's executive is expected to give NK603 the go-ahead in September.

Brussels is getting frustrated with a failure of nerve by national governments to authorise biotech products that are unpopular with public opinion, leaving the commission holding a hot political potato.

Commissioners point to scientific evidence giving NK603 a clean bill of health and the possibility of international litigation if EU governments continue to block GM.

Highlighting the issue, and also on Monday, the EU executive cleared NK603 "for use in animal feed or for industrial purposes".

EU environment chief Margot Wallstrom stressed that authorisation followed rigorous procedures.

"The maize has been subject to a rigorous pre-market risk assessment. It has been scientifically assessed by the European Food Safety Authority as being as safe as any conventional maize," she said.

"Its safety is, therefore, not in question, and neither is the question of user or consumer choice. Clear labelling provides farmers and consumers with the information they need to decide whether to buy the product or not."

Green campaigners believe the situation indicates the failure of the EU's GM regulatory structures, revived in April after a five year freeze on the new technology.

"This pattern of decision-making by default is starting to expose the lack of credibility of EU authorisation procedures," said Greenpeace spokesman Eric Gall.

"Most consumers do not want GMOs and member states have not agreed to approve them, the commission is defying democracy by pushing through these approvals to satisfy the biotech lobby and its US backers."