Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-04-Speech-2-255"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070904.25.2-255"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"I should like to thank the honourable Member, Mrs McGuinness, for the question. Firstly, I wish to reply to your question on GMO research in general. In the past the Commission funded research projects on genetically modified food in the Fifth Framework Programme and also in the Sixth Framework Programme, with several projects that contribute to shedding light on the safety assessments of genetically modified foods.
The Commission is currently setting up a European co-existence bureau which will conduct this technical work jointly with national experts and stakeholders. The work is planned to start by the end of 2007. The first crop to be addressed will be maize.
As for the further steps towards harmonisation, the Commission intends to sum up the developments in the Member States regarding the development of the regulatory regimes and practical experience with GM-crop multi-cultivation in a report scheduled for the year 2008. This will be the basis for the decision about future steps to take on this issue.
Finally, concerning the last part of the question concerning potential consequences, as regards the GM-free status, I would like to add the following. Farmers are free to decide amongst themselves not to cultivate GMO or to create, on a voluntary basis, zones where GM crops are not cultivated. These zones can be established only under the voluntary and unanimous agreement of all farmers concerned in the respective locations, while allowing for the possibility for any farmer to withdraw and cultivate authorised GMOs if he or she so wishes.
The regions or farmers which wish not to cultivate GMOs or to adopt a GM-free status, can certainly benefit from the research findings from the research framework programmes. To date, the results from our research projects do not indicate any reasons why a GM-free status would be beneficial for public health or for the environment.
As regards other issues related to your questions, as for the economic implications on voluntary refraining from GM-crops cultivation, they depend on numerous factors such as prices for GM or non-GM crops, agronomic differences between GM and non-GM crops, differences in yield, seed costs and so on. Local factors, pest pressure, climatic conditions, structure of agriculture of production and so on and regulatory conditions to ensure the coexistence of GM crops with conventional and organic production.
The economic impact is likely to vary between regions and Member States. Such differences are also reflected in the differences between the uptake rates of GM crop cultivation in different European regions.
The EU livestock production is highly dependent on the import of animal feed derived from soya beans, maize and other crops. Most of the imports of maize and soya bean-derived foodstuffs are labelled as GM. Certified non-GM soya bean meal is currently only available for a small market segment. Given the increasing share of GM soya bean production worldwide this could be expanded, but of course at higher cost.
Research projects were also funded on the issue of coexistence between GMO and conventional crops, which also addressed traceability measures. These projects will ultimately contribute to reducing costs and to ensuring informed customer choices in line with Community legislation. This year, in the first call for proposals in the 7th Framework Programme, the Commission called for the submission of proposals on a topic for research on assessment of short- and long-term effects of GMOs on human and animal health, with the aim of supporting the development of improving techniques for post-market monitoring and for analysing their possible limitations. While evaluations have been finished, the selection process of proposals for funding is still going on.
Moreover, a complementary study has been launched by the Commission in DG Environment dealing with the long-term effects of genetically modified crops on health, biodiversity and the environment. The key objective of this study will be to prioritise the potential risks of the main crop trade combinations cultivated worldwide by collecting and analysing information from peer-reviewed literature and from the relevant organisations, both within and outside the European Union. With the necessary expertise in research and cultivation of GM crops, the results are expected next spring.
In the future, Commission-funded research could include tools for safety assessment, risk/benefit assessments, including risk communication and perception, detection methods, ways to ensure traceability and coexistence of genetically modified and conventional organisms.
On the second part of your question on the coexistence issue, I would like to add the following. It should be noted that authorised GMOs can be freely traded and used within the EU under the conditions of the authorisation consent provided. The legislative framework for the authorisation of GMOs for placing on the market and for deliberate release into the environment in the EU does not provide the possibility to establish zones where the cultivation or placing on the market of GMOs is generally prohibited. A general ban would contradict Community legislation, in particular Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs.
Indeed, only GMOs that have been scientifically evaluated as safe for the environment and animal and human health are authorised to be placed on the market. A specific ban on a product must be scientifically justified according to Article 23 of this directive, the so-called safeguard clause article.
Community research into coexistence is studying appropriate measures to segregate authorised GM crops from conventional and organic crops in a feasible and practical way. The research results indicate that sufficient segregation is feasible for the major crops studied so far – maize and sugar beet. However, with increasing commercial cultivation and genetically modified crops in the EU and imports of genetically modified food and feed, adventitious presence through gene flow and admixture becomes unavoidable.
On your question about the possibility to authenticate a GM-free designation in relation to livestock products, I would like to draw your attention to the statement of the European Food Safety Authority paper published recently on 20 July 2007, where EFSA noted that no technique is currently available to enable a valid and reliable tracing of animal products like meat, milk or eggs, when the animals have been fed a diet incorporating GM plants or, to put it another way, DNA fragments or proteins from GM plants have not been detected in edible products from farm animals using the existing available techniques.
To add something from the area of my colleagues, the Commission continues to assess the coexistent measures notified by Member States with respect to their compliance with Community legislation. The Council asked the Commission to develop jointly with the Member States guidelines for crop-specific co-existence measures at technical level."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples