FRENCH COURT ASKED TO REVERSE GENE-MAIZE DECISION
RTw 04.12.98 18:54
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PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - A lawyer for the state on Friday asked
France's Council of State to reverse its September decision
delaying authorisation given to Novartis Seeds to market three
strains of genetically-modified maize in France.
Jacques-Henri Stahl made the request at a public hearing but it
could be several days before a final decision by the Council, the
country's highest administrative court, is announced.
"We do not believe that the caution principle has been
bypassed...The decree was not illegal..the delay is
unfounded," he said.
But long-time genetical engineering opponent Greenpeace said it
was confident the Council would in the end uphold its September
decision.
"I am very confident. Stahl had the same arguments in
September and the council did not follow at the time. Nothing has
really changed since then except that there is more and more
concern (over gene-crops)," Arnaud Apotecker, the head of
Greenpeace France, told Reuters.
A lawyer for the ECOROPA association suggested that because the
dispute touched both national and European legal points, the
Council might choose to seek advice from the European Court of
Justice. Such a move would further delay a final decision on the
commercialisation of the three strains.
The September 25 decision by the Council followed a request by
Greenpeace.
At the time the Council had said the decision had been taken on
the basis of irregularities in the procedure rather than on
safety grounds.
It had said it would rule on the principles of the decision in
early December.
France in February 1998 authorised its farmers to grow
genetically-modified maize developed by Novartis.
European Commission officials said that if the final ruling
upheld the ban on Novartis maize, which has been approved for
sale throughout the European Union, France may be in breach of EU
laws.
In July France authorised the commercialisation and cultivation
of two new maize varieties developed by U.S. firm Monsanto and
German firm AgrEvo following a public debate on gene-issues.
But in October Greenpeace filed a new request with the Council of
State to also nullify these decisions. The Council has yet to
rule on that request.
Last July France imposed a two-year moratorium on approvals of
all genetically-modified rapeseed varieties including two strains
developed by Belgian firm Plant Genetic Systems (PSG), a unit of
German group AgrEvo after concerns genetic modifications could be
transmitted to other crops.
The strains MS1 and RF2 had been given EU approval in 1997.
The Commission has started legal proceedings against France for
delaying the authorisation procedure.
(Paule Bonjean, Paris newsroom +33 1 4221 5432, fax +33 1 4236
1072, paris.newsroom+reuters.com))
REUTERS