Inside US Trade | January 25, 2002
European Commissioners last week backed off from a plan to force a decision from member state leaders this spring on how to handle the European Union's approval of new varieties of genetically modified organisms. It will no longer push at the March Barcelona summit for member state leaders to lift an existing moratorium, but will raise the issue of EU competitiveness in the field of biotechnology.
The decision not to place the biotech moratorium on the summit agenda was taken last week at an informal meeting of commissioners charged with the contentious biotechnology issue, sources said. It included Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner David Byrne and Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, both of whom had backed putting the decision before the heads of state for a political decision. Also attending the meeting were EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler and Erkki Liikanen, commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society.
Sources speculated that the commissioners balked at forcing the heads of state to take the controversial decision for fear such a high-profile push would be shot down. In addition, elections in France this spring and in Germany in the fall could decide whether Green parties, who have opposed lifting the moratorium, will remain in government. Rather than hand these parties an election issue with a push to lift the moratorium, the commissioners decided to wait out the election results.
Undersecretary of State for Business, Economic and Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson has highlighted the Barcelona summit as a date at which the U.S. wants the EU to move forward on the biotechnology approvals. The moratorium has halted some $300 million in U.S. corn shipments (Inside U.S. Trade, Jan. 11, p.12).
The Barcelona summit agenda will include the EU's competitiveness in the biotechnology field after a report released this week said the EU was falling behind in the sector. But the recommendations for action do not include a resumption of approvals, which have been blocked for three years by a minority of member states. Instead, the report "invites" the Parliament and member states Council to speed up adoption of labeling, traceability and GMO food and feed regulations.
It also calls for a variety of legislative, research and educational initiatives, including adoption of labeling and traceability regulations the U.S. contends will disrupt trade.
Industry sources said that in absence of a decision at the Barcelona summit they are left wondering what avenues were left open to the U.S. to have approvals restart. "All the jawboning has reached the point of where people are now saying What are we going to do now,"one industry source said.
EU officials have been cool to suggestions that member states could be taken to court over the moratorium or to suggestions that the Commission use procedures to overrule objections on GMOs that have received favorable scientific reviews.
The member states have refused to lift the moratorium prior to the adoption of the traceability and labeling regulations, which is unlikely before 2003. But the Commission report, Life sciences and biotechnology--A Strategy for Europe, mentions that these regulations could be completed in 2002. It highlights the setbacks for the development of the biotech industry that has been caused by the controversy over biotechnology.
"While the public debate has contributed to awareness and concrete improvements on important issues, it has also focused narrowly on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and specific ethical questions, on which public opinion has become polarized," the report says. "This has stifled our competitive position, weakened our research capability and could limit our policy options in the longer term.
The report lays out a multi-point action plan for the EU to proceed on biotechnology. On approvals, the report sets a 2003 timeframe for the Commission to report on options to "improve further the consistency and efficiency of the framework for authorizing GMOs for deliberate release into the environment, including a centralized authorization procedure.
The report also calls for long-term monitoring of the environmental impact of GMOs and for a comparison of the impact of GMO-based animal feed versus conventional feeds.
The commission will also finalize its work in 2002-2003 on environmental liability for GMOs, another proposal that biotech interests find worrisome.
Also, the Commission will work to ensure that biotech regulations are implemented uniformly among member states and provide guidance on testing methodology. U.S. industry has expressed fears that individual member states could impose draconian penalties under the proposed rules and that testing procedures will disrupt trade.
It calls for further study and discussion with civil society on ethical and socio-economic implications of biotechnology.
In addition, the report calls for continually assessing the competitiveness of the EU biotech industry, boosting that competitiveness through various policies through investment and protection of intellectual property.
The report also highlights international initiatives in biotechnology, such as the EU's efforts to get approval for labeling and traceability in international forums, like the Codex Alimentarius. It also calls for effective research on an "appropriate mix" of traditional techniques and new technologies in developing countries and protection of their traditional knowledge. These points highlight the EU international strategy on biotechnology, which has often run into opposition from the U.S.Inside US Trade:
