Brussels, 26 Apr 2004
( 8689/04 )
The Danish and Austrian delegations, supported by the Luxembourg delegation, stressed the need for the Community to establish clear rules for GMOs in seed and called upon the Commission to put forward as soon as possible a new proposal with respect to labelling and the contents of GMOs in seed, in which the thresholds would be set at detection level (0,1%). These delegations expressed their concerns as regards the different threshold values to be set for seeds and the need for the Commission to consult the national experts prior to its decision.
The German delegation indicated its concerns following the important reduction of conventional crops in countries where GM crops had been introduced and wished that fair and proper rules be implemented very soon. The Italian delegation pointed out the need to have a clear definition as regards the adventitious presence of GM seeds and also urged the Commission to present a proposal setting low tolerance thresholds. These thresholds could be changed, if necessary, in the next years depending on how national legislation performed.
Commissioner Byrne indicated that his Institution had been working on establishing thresholds as regards the adventitious presence of GMO content in seeds, and that a draft decision on this issue, in the framework of Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of GMOs, would be submitted in the coming weeks to a Committee for a first examination.