The Member States’ Long and Winding Road to Partial Regulatory Autonomy in Cultivating Genetically Modified Crops in the EU
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (6/2013)
Member States wishing to cultivate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have always been a minority in the EU. Only eight out of twenty-seven have experienced transgenic agriculture. Throughout the years, the opposition to this form of farming has become a genuinely transnational phenomenon given that many regions of different European countries declared themselves GMO-free. Moreover, Member States such as Austria, Luxembourg, Greece, Poland and, most recently, Hungary officially banned transgenic agriculture within their borders altogether. France and Germany suspended the cultivation of GM maize MON 810, respectively in 2008 and 2009. In addition, the EU has previously authorized only two GM crops: GM maize MON 810 (authorization renewed in 2008) and GM potato EH92-527-1 (2010), known as the ‘Amflora potato.’ The cautious approach towards transgenic farming is also witnessed by the long and contested process of renewal of the permit to cultivate GM maize MON 810 and the issue of the authorization for the Amflora potato. All this shows that in the EU there has always been a very limited tolerance for transgenic agriculture.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (6/2013)
Member States wishing to cultivate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have always been a minority in the EU. Only eight out of twenty-seven have experienced transgenic agriculture. Throughout the years, the opposition to this form of farming has become a genuinely transnational phenomenon given that many regions of different European countries declared themselves GMO-free. Moreover, Member States such as Austria, Luxembourg, Greece, Poland and, most recently, Hungary officially banned transgenic agriculture within their borders altogether. France and Germany suspended the cultivation of GM maize MON 810, respectively in 2008 and 2009. In addition, the EU has previously authorized only two GM crops: GM maize MON 810 (authorization renewed in 2008) and GM potato EH92-527-1 (2010), known as the ‘Amflora potato.’ The cautious approach towards transgenic farming is also witnessed by the long and contested process of renewal of the permit to cultivate GM maize MON 810 and the issue of the authorization for the Amflora potato. All this shows that in the EU there has always been a very limited tolerance for transgenic agriculture.
Bleak Prospects for Research in GMP in Switzerland
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (9/2012)
Many European countries, including Switzerland, share deep suspicions about the broad commercial application of Genetically Modified Plants (GMP) in agriculture. Research in GMP, however, is mostly welcome. In Switzerland, nevertheless, an overprotective legal framework against risks of GMP results in regulatory spillovers for research. This article explores how such expanded legal protection in combination with the application of a strong precautionary principle hampers freedom of research in the field of green gene technology. The authors do not seek, on this occasion, to question the general risk assessment of Swiss legislators and their desire for a high level of protection. However, field trials with GMP will cease to take place if the procedural burdens for researchers are not reduced. In particular, it will be vital to establish research zones (“protected sites”) if research in GMP is to continue to take place in Switzerland.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (9/2012)
Many European countries, including Switzerland, share deep suspicions about the broad commercial application of Genetically Modified Plants (GMP) in agriculture. Research in GMP, however, is mostly welcome. In Switzerland, nevertheless, an overprotective legal framework against risks of GMP results in regulatory spillovers for research. This article explores how such expanded legal protection in combination with the application of a strong precautionary principle hampers freedom of research in the field of green gene technology. The authors do not seek, on this occasion, to question the general risk assessment of Swiss legislators and their desire for a high level of protection. However, field trials with GMP will cease to take place if the procedural burdens for researchers are not reduced. In particular, it will be vital to establish research zones (“protected sites”) if research in GMP is to continue to take place in Switzerland.
Schizophrenic Stakes of GMO Regulation in the European Union
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (6/2012)
EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is the most stringent legislation governing the matter in the world, laying down strict conditions relating to labelling, traceability, threshold and release on the market. In light of a recent Commission proposal to amend Directive 2001/18, which currently regulates the release of GMOs on the European market, this article asks whether and on what basis such stringency is justified. This is done through an in depth analysis of the EU regulatory framework for GMOs while at the same time highlighting the multiple interests at stake (environmental, scientific, industrial, political, national and European).
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (6/2012)
EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is the most stringent legislation governing the matter in the world, laying down strict conditions relating to labelling, traceability, threshold and release on the market. In light of a recent Commission proposal to amend Directive 2001/18, which currently regulates the release of GMOs on the European market, this article asks whether and on what basis such stringency is justified. This is done through an in depth analysis of the EU regulatory framework for GMOs while at the same time highlighting the multiple interests at stake (environmental, scientific, industrial, political, national and European).
Can Science Tame Politics: The Collapse of the New GMO Regime in the EU
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (6/2012)
On 2 March 2010 the European Commission authorised the cultivation of a BASF’s genetically modified potato “Amflora” throughout the European Union. This came after a tortuous process commenced in 1996 and so far it is the only authorisation of a GMO for cultivation in EU since the current regulation was established. On 3 March 2010, President Barroso announced that the Commission intends to propose amendments to the current regulation to allow the Member States to prohibit the cultivation of GMO authorised for cultivation in the EU and it did so on June 13, 2010. This is one of the very few cases where decision-making power is effectively devolved back from Union to state level; it is even more impressive that this is happening on the initiative of the Commission and despite the obvious negative consequences for the internal market. In the meantime BASF botched the 2011 growing season for Amflora in Sweden and in 2012 announced that it withdraws its GM crops from the EU. This article follows the saga purports to find the reasons why it entailed an immediate change.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (6/2012)
On 2 March 2010 the European Commission authorised the cultivation of a BASF’s genetically modified potato “Amflora” throughout the European Union. This came after a tortuous process commenced in 1996 and so far it is the only authorisation of a GMO for cultivation in EU since the current regulation was established. On 3 March 2010, President Barroso announced that the Commission intends to propose amendments to the current regulation to allow the Member States to prohibit the cultivation of GMO authorised for cultivation in the EU and it did so on June 13, 2010. This is one of the very few cases where decision-making power is effectively devolved back from Union to state level; it is even more impressive that this is happening on the initiative of the Commission and despite the obvious negative consequences for the internal market. In the meantime BASF botched the 2011 growing season for Amflora in Sweden and in 2012 announced that it withdraws its GM crops from the EU. This article follows the saga purports to find the reasons why it entailed an immediate change.
EU GM Crop Regulation: A Road to Resolution or a Regulatory Roundabout?
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
Since first embarking on the road of risk management options for the regulation of recombinant DNA (rDNA) activities and use in 1978, the European Union (EU) has largely failed to create a regulatory and policy environment regarding genetically modified (GM) crops and their cultivation that is (a) efficient, (b) predicable, (c) accountable, (d) durable or (e) interjurisdictionally aligned.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
Since first embarking on the road of risk management options for the regulation of recombinant DNA (rDNA) activities and use in 1978, the European Union (EU) has largely failed to create a regulatory and policy environment regarding genetically modified (GM) crops and their cultivation that is (a) efficient, (b) predicable, (c) accountable, (d) durable or (e) interjurisdictionally aligned.
The New Strategy on Coexistence in the 2010 European Commission Recommendation
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The European Union tried to establish a “coexistence” policy for the cultivation and processing of GM and non-GM products after the political agreement that put an end to the 1999-2004 moratorium. Consequently, coexistence is part of this gentlemen’s agreement between States with pro and anti-GMO positions.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The European Union tried to establish a “coexistence” policy for the cultivation and processing of GM and non-GM products after the political agreement that put an end to the 1999-2004 moratorium. Consequently, coexistence is part of this gentlemen’s agreement between States with pro and anti-GMO positions.
What Price Flexibility? – The Recent Commission Proposal to Allow for National “Opt-Outs” on GMO Cultivation under the Deliberate Release Directive and the Comitology Reform Post-Lisbon
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
“After a reform is before another reform.” This paraphrasing of a famous saying from the world of football seems to be a very fitting way to describe the status quo of the European policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The functioning of the EU legal framework on GMOs has since its initial establishment in the 1990s been troubled by political disagreement, deadlocks in decision-making, strong public opposition in the Member States, and considerable delays in the process of authorisation of genetically engineered products on the internal market of the EU.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
“After a reform is before another reform.” This paraphrasing of a famous saying from the world of football seems to be a very fitting way to describe the status quo of the European policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The functioning of the EU legal framework on GMOs has since its initial establishment in the 1990s been troubled by political disagreement, deadlocks in decision-making, strong public opposition in the Member States, and considerable delays in the process of authorisation of genetically engineered products on the internal market of the EU.
The Commission’s New Approach to the Cultivation of Genetically Modified Organisms
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The Commission has proposed to legitimise the renationalization of the cultivation of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) accepting the request of a group of Member States who raised concerns at the Environment Council of June 2009 regarding the EU-wide decisions on GMO cultivation. Based on subsidiarity grounds, they requested the Commission give the freedom to decide on the cultivation of GM plants to both national and local authorities.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The Commission has proposed to legitimise the renationalization of the cultivation of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) accepting the request of a group of Member States who raised concerns at the Environment Council of June 2009 regarding the EU-wide decisions on GMO cultivation. Based on subsidiarity grounds, they requested the Commission give the freedom to decide on the cultivation of GM plants to both national and local authorities.
The Regulatory Challenge of Animal Cloning for Food – The Risks of Risk Regulation in the European Union
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (3/2010)
In this article I describe and analyse the current regulatory developments at EU level concerning the marketing of foods produced from cloned animals. As they are on the verge of commercialisation in countries outside the EU, especially in the United States, foods from cloned animals are likely to reach the European consumers in the foreseeable future. Yet at the moment there is no specific legal framework that regulates such products in the EU.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (3/2010)
In this article I describe and analyse the current regulatory developments at EU level concerning the marketing of foods produced from cloned animals. As they are on the verge of commercialisation in countries outside the EU, especially in the United States, foods from cloned animals are likely to reach the European consumers in the foreseeable future. Yet at the moment there is no specific legal framework that regulates such products in the EU.
Inferences on the tolerance of some forest woody angiosperms in an urban polluted environment
© Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (6/2009)
Urban settings represent some of the most humanly crowded and polluted environments. The genotype effect of five species that show tolerance to urban air pollution in Thessaloniki, Greece was investigated. The study was conducted in pairs of trees that were selected as growing under the same spacing and micro-environment, but showing noticeably different degrees of adaptation to air pollution (‘tolerant’ and ‘sensitive’ trees).
© Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (6/2009)
Urban settings represent some of the most humanly crowded and polluted environments. The genotype effect of five species that show tolerance to urban air pollution in Thessaloniki, Greece was investigated. The study was conducted in pairs of trees that were selected as growing under the same spacing and micro-environment, but showing noticeably different degrees of adaptation to air pollution (‘tolerant’ and ‘sensitive’ trees).
