Save our Seeds

The European Parliament and the European Council have agreed on a substantially improved regulation to introduce the International Biosafety Protocol into EU legislation. The Protocol is expected to enter into force soon.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/ep_biosafety_04_06_03.pdf">Report from the Parliament</a>

Industry, Opponents Fail to Agree on Recommendation for RegulationAn elaborate, secretive effort in Washington over the past two years to negotiate a truce between the agricultural biotechnology industry and its critics has ended in failure, with the parties unable to agree on a plan to strengthen biotech regulations in this country. One important reason: The US administrations WTO case against the European Union.</p><p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55678-2003May29.html">Article in the Washington Post</a></p><p><a href="http://pewagbiotech.org/consensus/FinalReport.pdf">Final report of the stakeholder forum, PEW</a>

The fight over GM crops exposes the weaknesses of globalisation, says Jeremy Rifkin in the Guardian,Monday June 2, 2003<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,968356,00.html">Rifkins article in the Guardian</a>

According to the "Times on Sunday" Jack Straw and other UK ministers want to kill off plans by Brussels to bring in a comprehensive regime for labelling genetically modified food. They fear "negative fall-out" from Washington if they back the consumer friendly policy, leaked cabinet papers reveal.</p><p><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-699255,00.html">Article in the Sunday Times</a>

On May 28th the Greens in the European Parliament, Friends of the Earth, Heinrich Boell Foundation and Euro-Coop organised a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss what steps would be needed to ensure co-existence of GM and non-GM crops without contamination and how the European Union should react to this challenge. The conference was attended by more than 100 people from various organisations in the EU, representatives from the biotech industry, competent authorities and politicians. There was general agreement that it would require at least substantial additional EU legislation to ensure the right not to use GMOs in the future, if such GMOs were planted at large scale in Europe.</p><p><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/conference/issue.htm">background papers at FOE web-site</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/news/English_nature_presentation_28_05_03.ppt">Powerpoint presentation from English Nature</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/news/Gruene_03-05-28-Koexistenz-Konferenz.htm">Presseerklärung der Grünen im EP</a>

The European Fodd Safety Agency has appointed the members of its scientific committees. The 21 members of the GMO committee include a range of outspoken pro GMO "activists" and none of those scientists, who have been critical of the present GMO risk assessment standards.</p><p><a href="http://www.efsa.eu.int/pdf/pressrel20030527_en.pdf">EFSA press release</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/news/Members of the European Food Safety Agencies.htm">Members of the European Food Safety Agency`s GMO committee</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/news/Members of the European Food Safety Agencies web.htm">some web references of the GMO committee members</a>

EU agricultural ministers on Monday 26th discussed proposals of Commissioner Franz Fischler regarding co-existence of GMO and non-GMO agriculture (see below, especially Communication of the Commission). At the centre of this discussion is the question whether dedicated, EU wide legislation is needed to regulate such co-existence or whether some general guidelines, as proposed by the Commission, would be sufficient and all details could be left to the member states.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/news/council_26_05_03.pdf">Report on the Council discussion</a></p><p><a href="http://www.copa.be/pdf/cdp_03_22_1e.pdf">Press release of Copa/Cogeca on coexistence</a></p><p><a href="http://www.copa.be/pdf/cdp_03_22_1d.pdf"> - deutsch</a></p><p><a href="http://www.copa.be/pdf/cdp_03_22_1f.pdf"> - francaise</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/news/AUSZUG_Ratssitzung_26_05_03.htm">Detaillierter Bericht von der Ratssitzung am 26.05.03</a>

Brussels - 27 May 2003 - A report released today warns that the lack of implementation of GMO laws in accession countries could result in GMOs unapproved in the EU, flooding the EU market after accession. The report entitled: "EU Enlargement - the introduction of GMOs by the back door of EU accession?" outlines the difficulties accession countries face in trying to harmonise their laws on GMOs used in food and agriculture, with the EU patchwork of legislation that is constantly under review,revision and expansion.</p><p><a href="http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2003/GR_27_May_Environmental.htm">Joint press release of Friends of the Earth and Anped with link to the report</a>

The Danish Institute for Agricultural Sciences, DIAS, invites scientists, researchers, agricultural advisors, decision makers, and others dealing with the scientific and agronomic aspects of GM crops and co-existence to attend the first European Conference on co-existence. The conference will start on Thursday November 13th at 9.30 and close on Friday November 14th at 15.30.</p><p><a href="http://www.agrsci.dk/gmcc-03/">DIAS Coexistence conference homepage</a>

Brussels, 22 May 2003. Today the European Parliament, voting in 2nd reading on the proposed regulations on GM food/feed (COM(2001) 425) and traceability of GMOs (COM(2001) 182) called for legislation on co-existence. The Committee also reaffirmed its position taken in 1st reading with regard to the labelling threshold and the tolerance level for unauthorised GMOs. The labelling threshold shall be lowered from 0.9%, as proposed by the Council, down to 0.5% as proposed by Parliament in 1st reading.The plenary vote will take place during Parliament`s plenary session in July (1-3 July).</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/Envi_committee_22_05_03.pdf">Report on the vote in the Environment Committee</a>