Farm groups are upset that the European Commission is rumoured to be contemplating allowing member states to reject food and feed imports containing approved biotechnology traits.
“We’re really concerned about this rumoured option for member states to opt out of a science based approval process,” said Brian Innes, vice-president of government relations with the Canola Council of Canada.
“It is just very difficult for us to see how it could be consistent with their (World Trade Organization) obligations to base things on science and not restrict trade unnecessarily.”
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European Parliament recently approved a similar opt-out policy regarding the cultivation of GM crops. It gives member states the final say on whether to grow GM crops.
That was a domestic issue for the EU, but Innes said any policy regarding imported product has implications for other countries.
“We have concerns, as an industry that is based on innovation, any time regulation moves off of science and risk assessment towards political decisions,” he said.
The U.S. Grains Council said the European Union’s food and feed markets are highly integrated.
“National opt-outs would result in fragmentation of the internal market for imported commodities and pose a serious threat to the principal of a single market,” the council said in a recent newsletter.
Innes said the opt-out policy for cultivating GM crops sparked a furious debate in the EU that essentially shut down the region’s approval system.
“There has been no biotechnology traits approved in the European Union since November of 2013,” he said.
“This is essentially a de facto moratorium that contravenes their international obligations, including under the WTO.”
Nineteen traits are awaiting final approval, including 13 that have already been approved by the European Food Safety Agency.
The traits have been awaiting approval for an average of 69 months despite EU laws stipulating an 18-month period for a decision.
The list includes two new herbicide tolerant canola traits: one from Monsanto and one from DuPont Pioneer. Those traits cannot be made available to Canadian growers until they receive EU approval.
“(Delays) are costly for growers because they prevent growers from accessing new technology, and they create significant uncertainty for seed developers as well,” said Innes.
North American farm groups are not the only ones upset about the rumoured policy. Members of the EU’s food and feed industries issued a joint news release condemning any attempt to put market authorizations of GM crops back in the hands of individual countries.
“Properly implementing the existing legislation should be the main priority for the commission before starting further reflections on changing the current market authorization procedure,” said the group.
The commission is expected to release the proposal April 15.
Contact sean.pratt@producer.com
