EU in Deadlock over New GMO Approval
Date: 06-Jun-05
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Jeremy Smith
It was the EU's 13th voting deadlock in a row on GMO foods.
The experts, representing the EU's 25 member states, could not reach a majority under the bloc's weighted voting system to approve or reject the application for approval. EU ministers will now debate the matter, probably after the summer.
Despite last year's lifting of an effective biotech moratorium by a legal default procedure, EU countries have not managed to agree by themselves on a GMO approval since 1998.
The maize, known as 1507, is jointly made by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont Co., and Dow AgroSciences unit Mycogen Seeds.
"It (the application to authorise) will now be transmitted to Council (of EU ministers) for adoption, and they will have three months. If they don't decide, the Commission will adopt," the official told Reuters.
The application was for use as an ingredient in food, appearing in products such as starch, flour and corn syrups. Maize is used far more in animal feed than as food.
1507 maize is engineered to resist the widely used glufosinate-ammonium herbicide and certain insects, in particular the European corn borer.
Britain, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands voted in favour of authorising the maize.
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia voted again, and the rest of the EU-25 abstained.
"Even though there were so few votes against 1507 maize for food use in the EU, it is disappointing that the EU again failed to reach the required QM (qualified majority) in favour of approving a safe new GMO product," Pioneer said in a statement.
"We now urge ministers to support the regulatory system they themselves put in place and swiftly approve 1507 maize which meets the EU's strict regulatory requirements," it said.
Consumer in Europe have been far more reluctant than those in the United States to accept GMO products, while manufacturers of GMO foods insist they are safe.