1.The Coalition for a GMO Free Poland
2.Poland faces lawsuits and fines over GMO ban
EXTRACT: According to polls, almost 80% of the public do not want to purchase GMO products.
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1.The Coalition for a GMO Free Poland
From: 'Fundacja ICPPC' This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dear all,
In reponse to renewed corporate attempts to undermine Poland's status as a Country Free from GMO, ICPPC has taken the initiative of launching a new body 'The Coalition for a GMO Free Poland.' The new body, made up of a broad cross section of society, will specifically counteract attempts to force GMO onto Polish fields and strongly put forward arguments for maintaining the current ban on GM seeds and the import ban of GM animal feeds due to take effect in the summer of 2008.
At a packed meeting in Krakow, on Saturday 1st December, the new organisation was born. Farmers, academics, environmental activists, consumer representatives, shopkeepers and politicians have pledged their support by joining the Coalition, which has put forward a strong pro ecological/no to GMO action plan for the coming year.
By catalysing fresh input from a wide range of concerned citizens and organisations we will be spreading the responsibility for keeping Poland GMO Free more widely and sharing the torch with other committed activists. As of today, 3rd December, more than 50 organisations plus VIP's have already signed up to the Coalition for a GMO Free Poland - and we anticipate many more.
One of the first acts of the new Coalition will be to press the new Polish government to resist any attempts to sell out to the GM corporate lobby or capitulate under European Commission demands to cease the current bans.
Julian and Jadwiga
ICPPC - International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside, Miêdzynarodowa Koalicja dla Ochrony Polskiej Wsi
34-146 Stryszów 156, Poland tel./fax +48 33 8797114 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.icppc.pl www.gmo.icppc.pl www.eko-cel.pl
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2.Poland faces lawsuits and fines over GMO ban
Warsaw Business Journal, 3 December 2007
http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=39331
There are only 20 days left for the government to reply to European Commission accusations that Poland's regulations on genetically modified products are in breach of European law.
According to polls, almost 80% of the public do not want to purchase GMO products. The previous government's Environment Minister refused to allow such products onto the market. According to the calculations of the Office of the Committee for the European Integration (UKIE), if Poland continues to ban GMO foods, it can face a fine of from EUR 4,300 to EUR 260,000 per each day of delay. However, if the EU court rules that Poland has violated EU law, then companies trading GMO products will be able to flood the country with lawsuits. 'There is no final opinion from the new minister yet. As a general rule, we do not want to admit genetically modified crops in Poland, as they threaten bio-diversity,' said Michał Milewski, acting spokesperson of the Environment Ministry. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 34; 1-2 December) M.M.