Well done to everyone who lobbied on this issue.

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European Parliament votes for organics
Friends of the Earth Europe
European Environmental Bureau
Greenpeace
PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release: Thursday March 29 2007

Brussels, 29 March, 2007 - Environmental NGOs have welcomed today's rejection by the European Parliament of a proposal to allow traces of genetically modified organisms in organic food [1,2]. The result of the vote, say Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace, and the European Environmental Bureau, is a clear indication from European elected representatives that the right to GM-free food is non-negotiable. Parliament also voted in favour of requesting an equal say on the legislation with Member States, through the codecision procedure [3], so there will now be negotiations with the Council and Commission to resolve this conflict over legislative powers.

The NGOs warn that the 0.1 percent GMO contamination threshold should under no circumstances be used as a bargaining counter in the resolution of this conflict over legislative powers.

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For further information please contact:-
Helen Holder, GM Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Europe
Tel : +32 (0)2 542 0182, Mobile +32 (0)474 857 638 ; E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Marco Contiero, Senior policy advisor, GMOs, Greenpeace EU Unit
Mobile: +32 (0)477 777 034 ; E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mauro Albrizio, Vice-president, European Environmental Bureau Mobile : +32 479 940 257 ; E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notes for editors:-

[1] Proposal for a Council Regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (COM(2005)0671 C6-0032/2006 2005/0278(CNS))

[2] The proposed law, if adopted as such, would allow 0.9% GMO contamination in organic foods. The law only allows this contamination as long as it is "adventitious" and "technically unavoidable", however there is evidence that the European Commission and other risk managers, under pressure to adopt a lax attitude to contamination, are, in fact, interpreting the 0.9 percent threshold to mean 'acceptable' contamination. The organic sector currently works to a lower threshold (detection level), which EU laws must support, to enable organic farmers and retailers to maintain existing standards.

[3] The codecision procedure gives the European Parliament the power to adopt legislation jointly with the Council of the European Union, requiring the two bodies to agree on an identical text before any proposal can become law.