Commission Daily News, 6 November 2013

GMOs - Commission asks Council to agree on its proposal to grant Member States more subsidiarity on cultivation

On the 26th September 2013, the General Court of the European Union delivered a ruling finding that the Commission failed to act on a GMO cultivation request which had been submitted twelve years ago in 2001.

In line with this ruling, the Commission today acted by referring the cultivation request to the Council of Ministers. It is now up to the Ministers to take a position by qualified majority on this request. The European Food Safety Agency had already submitted a positive opinion on this request in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012, in all six positive opinions.

Commissioner in charge of Health, Tonio Borg, said: "Duty bound to comply with the ruling of the Court, the Commission has decided today to send a draft decision of authorisation of the maize 1507 to the Council: in the coming months, ministers will be invited to take a position on this authorisation request. The Court's decision on maize 1507 confirms the urgency of reconciling strict and predictable European authorisation rules for GMO cultivation, with fair consideration of national contexts." See also IP/13/1038 and MEMO/13/952.

See also related news item: 6 November 2013 GMOs - Statement by EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg, on Commission's decision on GM Pioneer 1507