NOTE: This is disgraceful - a double disaster, simultaneously pushing environmentally devastating agrofuels and undermining the island's GM-free status.
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Hefty EU fines over GMO embargo
By George Psyllides
Cyprus Mail, 26 September 2009
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=48021&cat_id=1

CYPRUS RISKS a hefty fine from the European Union over its embargo on biofuel produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Parliament heard yesterday.

The Cypriot law on the promotion of biofuels and other renewable fuel, passed in 2005 to bring the island in line with EU legislation contains a clause banning the supply and sale of biofuels made from genetically modified plants.

The EU warned Cyprus in 2007 that the clause violated EU legislation but it has remained unchanged since.

MPs said the decision to keep the clause was conscious and unanimous in a bid to keep Cyprus GMO free.

But in May 2009 the European Commission sought recourse at the European Communities Court and now Cyprus could be forced to pay millions in fines.

On top of that, Cypriot taxpayers are now paying an additional $50 (€27) per metric tonne for a certificate saying the imported biofuel is not made from GMOs but no one can check the authenticity of the certificate.

Cyprus imports biofuel in the form of oil, which is then mixed into diesel used in transport.

The Head of the Energy Department Solon Kasinis explained that it would be necessary to check the DNA of the seed to determine whether it is a GMO something impossible since the fuel arrives in the form of oil, the seed’s product.

The legal service said Cyprus has no legal or scientific arguments to defend its position.

Austria has lost its own case and France was fined €10 million, Maria Hadjigeorgiou said.

“I am obliged to ask you (parliament) on how to handle situation,” Hadjigeorgiou told lawmakers.

Kasinis said there should be a clear distinction between the effort to declare Cyprus GMO-free and getting rid of the clause since the two issues were completely different.

The cabinet has decided to re-table the law before parliament and MPs appeared ready at the end of the session to scrap the controversial article.

However, this does not mean Cyprus was off the hook.

That would be up to the discretion of the commission, Hadjigeorgiou said.