Important conference in Budapest, Hungary

On 16-17 April 2015 the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary will hold a conference entitled “How to maintain GMO-free agriculture in Europe”. The event will be held in Budapest (the main building of the Ministry of Agriculture, 1005 Budapest No 11, Kossuth Square). There is no registration fee for the conference.
 
Registration is open as from 20.03.2015 at the following webpage: http://nakvi.hu/app/gmo/  The registration deadline is 01.04.2015.
 
About the conference

The first day of the conference will address the diverse aspects and characteristics of the different GMO-free labelling schemes based on the experience of all relevant stakeholders, promoting the development of GMO-free labelling legislations. In the course of the second day socio-economic considerations will be discussed not only among the Member States of the European Union but among other countries in Europe as well who believe that socio-economic aspects could be relevant when deciding on the authorisation of GMOs.
 
Background

Dr. Sándor FAZEKAS, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture launched the “Alliance for a GMO Free Europe” initiative on the occasion of the ministerial summit of the “Grüne Woche” event in Berlin, in January this year. The aim is to reach and/or to maintain the GM-free status of European countries with concrete steps at European, regional, national and local level in order to achieve GM-free agriculture and food production and also in order to protect biodiversity. In addition, possible economic benefits are expected in the field of health care, tourism; better export positions of seeds and other products at international level.
 
We look forward to welcoming you.
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Conference programme

How to maintain GMO-free agriculture in Europe
GMO-free labelling
Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture

Budapest, 16 April 2015
9:00 - 10:00 Registration
10:00 – 10:15 Opening of the meeting (Sándor Fazekas, Minister for Agriculture, Hungary)
10:15 – 10:45 Matthias Krön, The Danube Soya Initiative, Austria
10:45 – 11:15 Tibor Bányai, Magyar Szója Non-Profit Kft., Hungary
11:15 – 11:45 Françoise Mori (tbc), permanent representation in Brussels, Luxembourg
11:45 – 12:15 Discussion
12:15 – 13:15 Lunch break
13:15 – 13:45 Johannes Hegenberger, Milk Purchasing Department, Zott, Germany
13:45 – 14:15 Lionel Desancé (tbc), Carrefour, France
14:15 – 14:45 Dietmar Vybiral, Federal Ministry of Health, Austria
14:45 – 15:15 Alexander Hissting, VLOG – Association Food without Genetic Engineering, Germany
15:15 – 15:45 Discussion
15:45 – 16:00 Closing remarks (István Nagy, Parliamentary State Secretary, Hungary

How to maintain GMO-free agriculture in Europe
Socio-economic considerations of GM crops
Budapest, 17 April 2015
8:30 - 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:15 Opening of the meeting (Hungary)
9:15 – 9:30 Thomas Brégeon, European Commission
9:30 – 9:45 Matthew Moore, Council Legal Service
9:45 – 10:00 Beat Späth, EuropaBio
10:00 – 10:15 Eric Gall, IFOAM EU
10:00 – 10:30 Discussion
10:30 – 10:45 Coffee break
10:45 – 11:15 Dietmar Vybiral / Anita Greiter, Federal Ministry of Health, Environment Agency Austria
11:15 – 11:45 Henry Rowlands/Martin Williams, Anthony Hicks (tbc), Global GMO Free Coalition/ Wales Government United Kingdom
11:45– 12:15 Discussion
12:15 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 13:15 H.-Christoph von Heydebrand, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany
13:15 – 13:30 Martin Batic, Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Slovenia
13:30 – 13:45 Nicolas Encausse, Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, France
13:45 – 14:00 Nikolay Tsvetkov, Ministry of Environment and Water, Bulgaria
14:00 – 14:30 Discussion
14:30 – 14:45 Coffee break
14:45 – 15:00 Angelika Hilbeck, ETH Zurich, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Switzerland
15:00 – 15:15 Casper Linnestad, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Norway
15:15 – 15:30 Angela Lozan, Ministry of Environment, Republic of Moldova
15:30 – 15:45 Russia (tbc)
15:45 – 16:15 Discussion
16:15 – 16:30 Closing remarks (Katalin Tóth, Deputy State Secretary for International Relations)