paris

Regulations on the environmental release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were tightened last week by ministers of the 15 member states of the European Union. Meeting in Luxembourg, they voted that GMOs should be given only provisional marketing approvals for ten years and not unlimited authorizations as at present. France, Ireland and Italy abstained.

Under the agreement, initial approvals would be considered only for releases “meeting certain safety criteria where sufficient experience exists”. They would also require an environmental risk assessment, be subject to “extensive consultation” with scientists and the public, and meet a series of compulsory monitoring requirements. Products would also need to be labelled clearly as containing GMOs.

A moratorium on new approvals, proposed by Greece and supported by France, was rejected. The new regulations are unlikely to come into force for at least two years, as they require the approval of the European parliament. This may therefore amount to a de facto moratorium.

Paul Muys, a spokesman for EuropaBio, an association that represents the European biotechnology industry, argues that the fact that the European Union has agreed on a common position is progress. At the same time, he deplores what he sees as unnecessary new layers of regulation for a technology that poses no new risks and is already tightly regulated.

A requirement to renew approvals after ten years is unnecessary, argues Muys, as existing regulations allow for products to be withdrawn if evidence of risks emerges. He adds that a non-binding statement issued after the meeting by France, Denmark,Italy, Greece and Luxembourg, calling for a freeze on approvals until the new regulations come into force, confirms industry's worst fear: that a moratorium on GMOs is now in place in Europe.