News

The regional parliament of Lower Austria has adopted a stringent GMO protection law, which requires regional approval and full publicity of any GM planting in the region and allows for plant specific restrictions to be imposed by the regional authority. The law had been notified to the EU Commission and not contested formally and will now enter into force. The parliament also decided to join the network of GMO free regions in Europe.</p><p><a href="http://www.noe.gv.at/service/politik/landtag/LandtagsvorlagenXVI/04/450/450G2.pdf">Niederösterreichisches Gentechnikvorsorgegesetz (text of the law in German)</a>

The city and region of Vienna has adopted June 29th a regional law on GMO planting and co-existence, which prohibits any GM planting without expressed consent of the regional government and enables the government to establish stringent requirements for such an approval. Vienna also decided to join the network of GMO free regional governments in Europe.</p><p><a href=""></a>

The Croatian Government passed a new law on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) that replaced the previous provisions regarding biotechnology in the Law on Protection of Nature as a new separate piece of legislation. The Food Law remains as the main law for regulating biotech food and feed.</p><p><a href="http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200506/146130111.doc">US GAIN report: New croatian GMO law</a>

At a EU Committee of the Regions hearing on GMOs and co-existence agricultural commissioner Marianne Fischer Boel announced a new network of EU member state authorities on co-existence. She also insisted that no general, yet maybe specific bans of GM growing were justified at regional level.Representatives of the Regional governments, the EU Parliament and Economic and Social Affairs Committee insisted on the protection of non-GM farming and production and the right of the regions to ban GMOs to this end. Proponents of GMO introduction from science, industry and the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt claimed that co-existence was feasible and called for laxer rules.</p><p><a href="http://www.cor.eu.int/en/press/press_05_06065.html">Committee of the Regions: Press Releases</a></p><p><a href="http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:L:2005:164:SOM:EN:HTML">Commission decision on co-existence network in the Official Journal (p 50)</a>

In a major blow to the European Commissions efforts to overcome the deadlock on GMO planting in Europe, the Council of EU environment ministers has rejected with qualified (2/3rd) majority a proposal to lift 8 national bans on previously EU approved GMOs. The ministers also rejected the approval of Monsanto's GM maize Mon863, but missed the qualified majority on this decision.</p><p><a href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2005-06-24T134447Z_01_N24176694_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-FOOD-EU-GMO-DC.XML">Reuters: EU ministers uphold sovereign right to ban GMOs</a></p><p><a href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2005-06-30T123235Z_01_L30559352_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-FOOD-EU-GMO-DC.XML">Reuters: Biotech crop policy in EU gets rethink after rebuff</a><p><a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24193532.htm">Reuters: EU ministers rebuff plans to overturn GMO bans</a></p><p><a href="http://eu.greenpeace.org/downloads/gmo/PREnvCouncil050624.pdf">Greenpeace: Commission defeated in string of GMO votes</a></p><p><a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24232121.htm">Reuters: Chronology of EU moves on gene crops and foods</a></p><p><a href="http://www.saveourseeds.org/downloads/FOE_PR_EU_bans_240605.pdf">Friends of the Earth: EU ministers vote to keep GM foods ban</a></p><p><a href="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24694224.htm">Reuters: EU's legal labyrinth of GMO legislation</a></p><p><a href="http://www.syngenta.com/en/news/050624_bt176.aspx">Syngenta: Statement on EU Member States decision not to lift GM bans</a>

Britain should develop more of the controversial plants, the experts said. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council based its recommendations on the results of a five-year, 4.5 million study into the safety of GM crops.</p><p><a href="http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/19487902">Evening Standard: GM crops get all-clear</a>

Despite a Supreme Court ruling in April the port turned back 745 truckloads that tested positive for GM soy. The port says it doesn't have the facilities to segregate GM and non-GM products.</p><p><a href="http://www.just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=61079">just-food.com: Port of Paranagua stops GM exports despite court ruling</a>

French farmers, Greenpeace, Attac and many additional organisations organised a European GMOpposition day on June 18th. More information and plenty of pictures from the manifestations and activities available at their web-site</p><p><a href="http://altercampagne.free.fr/pages/Manifs.htm">Manifestations in French and other Regions - pictures and reports</a></p><p><a href="http://altercampagne.free.fr/">AlterCampagne homepage</a>

The European Union launched an integrated research project Co-Extra with 52 partners from 18 countries to study and validate biological containment methods and model supply chain organisations for implementing co-existence of GMO and non-GMO supply chains. 13.5 millions will be spent to propose information structure, content and flow management and traceability. "Co-Extra's objective is to provide all the stakeholders of the food and feed chains with a central decision-support system integrating the tools, methods, models and guidelines needed". The four year project comprises major national research institutions, GMO-laboratories and PR companies experienced in promoting GMO in agriculture and food. NGOs, regional and farmers representatives are not included. It will be financed in addition to a similar project called "Sustainable introduction of GMO in European Agriculture", Sigmea.</p><p><a href="http://www.coextra.org/">Co-Extra Project - homepage</a></p><p><a href="http://sigmea.dyndns.org">SIGMEA - homepage</a>

The Committee of the Regions' Commission for sustainable development will hold a round table about "The regions, genetically modified organisms and coexistence" on June 27th in Brussels.</p><p>Contact: Commission for Sustainable Development, 101 rue Belliard, B- 1000 Brussels, Tel. +32 (0)2 282 21 43 Fax +32 (0)2 282 20 74, please register before June 21.</p><p><p><a href="http://www.cor.eu.int/document/activities/OGM%20CdR_176-2005_en.pdf">Invitation and programme of the round table</a></p><p><a href="http://www.cor.eu.int/document/presentation/liste_deve.pdf">List of regional members of the Commission for Sustainable Development</a>