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Proposed improvements to GM assessments
05/12/2008
The decision by the EU's French presidency to look into concerns over the approval process for GM crops has been welcomed by Environment Minister Michael Russell.
The move was made in light of discussions held at the Environment Council in Brussels.
Mr Russell said:
"I very much welcome the French Presidency's initiative to look into some of the concerns about the GM approval process that have been voiced over recent years by Member States.
"I believe that these proposals, if implemented, should help to allay concerns that many Member States currently have about how GM crops trials are approved.
"I am particularly pleased to see the Council's recognition of the importance of taking regional factors into account. I strongly feel that the current framework does not protect Scotland's desire to remain free of GM crops.
"Social and economic factors also have an important part to play. We have consistently argued that the cultivation of GM crops can have wide-ranging consequences and I am happy to see that this has been recognised in this week's discussions.
"The Commission's commitment to improve the efficiency of the GM food and feed approvals process - provided, of course, that this does not detract from the rigour of the analysis - must also be welcomed."
Following discussions at previous Environmental Council meetings in March and June, the French Presidency of the EU set up a technical working group to look at the management of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This group has met four times and the outcome of their discussions was a series of conclusions considered at Thursday's meeting of European Environment ministers.
The conclusions focus on five areas of discussion:
- Strengthening of environmental assessment and of monitoring arrangements
- Appraisal of socio-economic criteria benefits and risks
- Better use of expertise
- European labelling thresholds for seed
- Sensitive and/or protected areas
The conclusions suggest various improvements to the approval process such as the harmonisation of the environmental assessment of genetically modified plants, the better use of expertise across the Member States and better coordination between scientists.
They also confirm the need for a labelling threshold for accidental presence of authorised GMOs in conventional seed and they recognise the importance of particular environments and ecosystems.