Friday December 10, 8:23 am Eastern Time
INTERVIEW-EU loth to use law on national GMO bans
By Michael Mann
BRUSSELS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The European Union is unlikely to start legal
action in the near future against countries such as Austria that have
imposed national bans on certain genetically modified organisms, the EU's
senior environment official said on Friday.
Austria, Luxembourg and France have all placed national restrictions on the
use of GM crops that have been approved by the EU, fearing they could have
negative effects on both human health and the environment.
The EU's top scientific committee concluded earlier this year that there was
no new evidence to back Austria's ban on two types of genetically modified
maize developed by Novartis AG and Monsanto Co (NYSE:MTC - news).
But with public suspicion of foods derived from GM crops growing, and the EU
busy amending its approvals process for GMOs, EU Environment Commissioner
Margot Wallstrom said it was not the time to start challenging such bans in
the courts.
``We have to live up to our obligations under the treaty and the existing
rules, but there's the option of saying we will wait or do it in another way
or find a solution together with these countries,'' Wallstrom told Reuters.
``I think you have to take a very pragmatic path and avoid taking these
countries to court when we're in the process of finding new solutions (to
the GMO question).''
Wallstrom said she appreciated the potential benefits of biotechnology but
that she shared the public's concerns about the new technology. Companies
developing new seeds had to explain better what their motives were.
``Do we need more food? We already have overproduction. They must be able to
explain what the use is of these crops and be able to tell people what we
know and what we do not know.''
No new GM crops have been authorised in the 15-member EU for 19 months amid
growing consumer concerns about food safety.
To meet these concerns, the EU is midway through revising its approvals
system to provide for tighter checks and better information for consumers.
U.S. FRUSTRATION
The block on new approvals has angered the United States, a key trading
partner, which has been unable to ship some bulk commodities to the EU that
are widely grown by its farmers but not yet licensed in Europe.
Wallstrom said she was preparing a paper which would attempt to define the
so-called ``precautionary principle'' on which the EU based many of its
decisions to ban products it considered to be a risk.
The EU has maintained its ban on U.S. hormone-treated beef, saying it has
evidence, but not proof, that hormones can be a danger to human health.
Wallstrom said she wanted to clarify on what basis the principle could be
applied ``to create understanding between the American way of looking at
things and the European way.''
She added, "The precautionary principle is something which allows us to take
action even when we don't have all the scientific evidence. Should the
definition (of when we can apply it) be when we have scientific evidence or
scientific proof or scientific data?
``Maybe it will never be possible to draw an exact line, but we must try to
explain the thinking and justify the right to use it,''
The United States has said it believes the EU often uses unverified
scientific data as an illegal barrier to trade, and insists a ban can only
be based on absolute proof of risk