Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
another attempt of the Commission to lift the Austrian bans failed when
the Council again rejected another Commission's draft decision based on
EFSA's scientific opinion of December 2008.
16
In January 2005, Hungary had joined the member-states that have
banned MON810 maize
17
on their territories, followed by Greece in
March 2006 and by France in February 2008. This caused the European
Commission again to request reviews by EFSA. Following investigation
of the evidences presented by Hungary, Greece, and France, EFSA in
July and October 2008, respectively, once again reaffirmed the safety of
the banned product, stating that, in terms of risk to human and animal
health and the environment, no new scientific evidence was presented
that would invalidate the previous risk assessments of genetically
modified maize MON810.
18
In March and April 2009, Luxembourg and Germany also postulated
cultivation bans on MON810 maize. Moreover, Austria, Luxembourg,
and Hungary have prohibited the cultivation of the most recently autho-
rized amylopectine potato, known as “Amflora” potato.
19
As a response to the existing national bans on cultivation of GM
crops and with the aim to enable the authorization system for GMOs to
function more effectively, the Commission proposed on July 13, 2010, a
new regulation that amends Directive 2001/18/EC. This amendment shall
provide member-states with the freedom to allow, restrict, or ban the
cultivation, not the import, of GMOs on part or all of their territory on
grounds other than those based on a scientific assessment of health and
environmental risks.
20
The decision needs approval from the member-
states and the European Parliament. It is criticized by both supporters
and opponents of GMOs.
16
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/scdoc/891.htm.
17
The authorization for the cultivation of T25 maize expired on April 18, 2007.
18
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/Satellite.
19
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/325&
format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&.
20
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/921&type=
HTML.
