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- MEPs rejected authorize a new GMO corn
- The European General Court annuls the authorization of GM potato
Paradoxes of weighted voting EU countries . The European Commission intends to authorize the cultivation of a new transgenic corn , the Pioneer TC 1507, although 19 countries reject this proposal. The affirmative vote of five countries and four abstaining prevented a general affairs council that the qualified majority of votes were given to block this plan of the Commission.
“There is no qualified majority (veto modified corn), and the Commission must approve the authorization of the crop,” said Tonio Borg, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs, who did not specify when the authorization becomes effective.
Community rules state that if GM qualified for or against a measure most is given, it returns to the hands of the European Commission, which has the “power and duty” to approve, stressed the Commissioner of Health and Consumer Affairs, Tonio Borg.
rejection of GM maize needed 260 votes, but fell in 210. The hopes of the countries leading the opposition (France, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands) have foundered when Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Portugal announced their abstention, equivalent to supporting five a favorable crop: Spain , Britain, Sweden, Finland and Estonia.
“It’s an incongruous situation, because a minority of countries can impose an election to a majority,” the French minister lamented repentin Thierry, who said “give this release a few weeks before the European elections will be extremely dangerous for the image EU “.
Commitments and elections
“This is one of the worst decisions at the wrong time,” the Hungarian representative. “We have a clear majority against this authorization. Promote skip over the rise of the extreme right,” he added.
Brussels executive led by Portuguese José Manuel Barroso “has the political responsibility to consider the opinion of the vast majority of states,” several delegations insisted.
1507 Transgenic maize has been designed to produce a toxin-insecticide against insect pests, and the second would be modified maize planted in Europe.
Secretary of State for the EU, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, 1507 said the maize “I spent years cultivating safely elsewhere in the world” while Luis Ferreirim, Greenpeace, judged that “has not been evaluated enough. ” “The decision to authorize or not a good barometer to see if the Commission will lean on the side of citizens and the environment, or the interests of business,” said Blanca Ruibal, Friends of the Earth.
Location must
Tonio Borg
added that the Commission was forced to restart the process on maize TC1507 released in November, after being condemned by the Court of Justice of the EU by delays in the authorization process. The matter was blocked since 2009.
“If corn TC1507 is authorized, the member states have the possibility to block cultivation in their territory,” said Commissioner Borg.
is expected that the French Parliament adopted on 10 April a bill prohibiting the cultivation of GM maize in France, in particular maize TC1507. Four GM crops have been authorized to be cultivated, but only MON810 maize, Monsanto, has applied for renewal of this authorization is grown. The other two maize (Bt176 and T25) and potato Amflora left. In December 2013, a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union revoked the authorization of another GM crop approved by the Commission in 2010, transgenic potato resistant to antibiotics Amflora BASF. The Court found that the Commission had substantially altered the original proposal to approve the Amflora potato, but had not returned to consult the committee of national experts.
Other reactions
Friends of the Earth, Ecologists in Action, Confederation of Consumers and Users, Coordinator of Organizations of Farmers and Livestock and Seed Network complained to the European Commission to address the overwhelming public and political opposition and the controversial GM maize ban Pioneer of the multinational. All these groups estimate that this corn is harmful to biodiversity and have not been sufficiently studied their impacts on bees and other pollinators.
voting shares the view expressed by the European Parliament to reject the culture of the new transgenic corn.
Andoni Garcia Arriola
member of the Executive Committee of COAG stated that “the vote is a clear signal, citizenship does not want GM nor most politicians and governments of Spain The Government must rethink its position and bet. by a GM-free agriculture and food, in line with most European countries and with the demands of citizenship. “
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