European Union members to vote this month | Countries sharply divided over the production of genetically modified crops
OXFORD, U.K. (Reuters) — Britain’s farm minister wants the European Union to approve a strain of genetically modified corn later this month, saying such a move was supported by scientific evidence.
“If approval is granted … then it will be the first GM food crop authorized for planting by the EU for 15 years,” Owen Paterson told the Oxford Farming Conference.
“Europe risks becoming the Museum of World Farming as innovative companies make decisions to invest and develop new technologies in other markets.”
The proposal covers an insect-resistant corn variety developed jointly by DuPont and Dow Chemical.
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If approved, it would be the second GM crop to be grown in the EU after Monsanto won approval for an insect-resistant corn variety in 1998. By comparison, GM crops are grown widely in North and South America and parts of Asia.
“Whether or not this vote heralds a breakthrough in the EU’s regulation of GM crops remains to be seen,” Paterson said.
“Delays and blockages have been politically motivated rather than based on evidence.”
The European Commission said it was duty bound to propose a vote after Europe’s second-highest court censured the EU executive in September for lengthy delays in the approval process, first launched in 2001.
Senior EU diplomats from the bloc’s 28 member countries will put the proposal to a vote sometime before the end of the month. A weighted majority would be needed for approval.
France, Austria and Italy are among countries expected to oppose approval, while supporters are likely to include Britain, Sweden and Spain.
“Let me be clear, there are other tools in the toolbox. GM is not a panacea,” Paterson said.
“But the longer that Europe continues to close its doors to GM, the greater the risk that the rest of the world will bypass us altogether.”
In one example, BASF decided two years ago to move its BASF Plant Science headquarters from Germany to the United States and stop the development of GM varieties for commercialization in Europe.
Europe’s second-highest court last month overturned a decision by the EC to allow the cultivation and sale of a GM potato developed by BASF. It is no longer grown in Europe after BASF withdrew it in 2012.
“The ruling underscores that it was the right decision in January 2012 to focus our plant biotechnology activities on markets with future relevance,” BASF said last month.
