Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
plans for some categories of products. The consultation of the Scientific
Committee(s) is obligatory. Applicants are requested to provide infor-
mation and reference material to enable the identification and detection
of GMO to facilitate postmarket inspection and control.
According to Directive 2001/18/EC, member-states may take appro-
priate measures to avoid the unintended presence of GMOs in other
products. To help member-states in developing national approaches to
coexistence, the Commission adopted, on July 23, 2003, a recommen-
dation on guidelines for the development of national strategies and
best practices to ensure the coexistence of genetically modified crops
with conventional and organic farming.
10
By February 2009, fifteen of
the twenty-seven EU members states had adopted specific legislation
on coexistence (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France,
Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Slovakia).
11
AuthorizationsunderDirective2001/18/EC
The first GM plant to be authorized in accordance with Directive
2001/18/EC was the herbicide-resistant maize line NK603. Although
there was still no majority in the Regulatory Committee as well as in the
Council to either accept or reject the approval for import and processing,
the Commission decided to grant the authorization in July 2004, based on
the positive opinion adopted by the newly established European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA)
12
in November 2003. Further authorizations
for the import of another three GM maize and two GM rapeseed vari-
eties, and recently for the cultivation of a GM potato have been granted
since (see Table 1).
10
http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/reports/coexistence2/guide en.pdf.
11
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/coexistence/index en.htm.
12
EFSA was established in January 2002 to be an independent provider for scientific
assessments ensuring food safety across the EU member states and across the food
and feed sectors. It replaced the Commission's Scientific Committees.
