EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT GGG G G G G 1999 G G 2004 G G G Session document FINAL A5-0465/2003 4 December 2003 REPORT on coexistence between genetically modified crops and conventional and organic crops 2003/2098(INI)) Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Rapporteur: Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf RR\516333EN.doc PE 329.801 EN EN PR_INI PE 329.801 2/16 RR\516333EN.doc EN CONTENTS Page PROCEDURAL PAGE.............................................................................................................. 4 MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ............................................ 5 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT.............................................................................................. 9 OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH AND CONSUMER POLICY ................................................................................. 13 RR\516333EN.doc 3/16 PE 329.801 EN PROCEDURAL PAGE At the sitting of 5 June 2003 the President of Parliament announced that the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development had been authorised to draw up an own-initiative report under Rule 163 on coexistence between genetically modified crops and conventional and organic crops. The committee appointed Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf rapporteur at its meeting of 12 June 2003. At the sitting of 22 September 2003 the President of Parliament announced that the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy had been asked for its opinion. The committee considered the draft report at its meetings of 11 September, 4 November and 2 December 2003. At the last meeting it adopted the motion for a resolution by 27 votes to 1. The following were present for the vote: Joseph Daul, chairman; Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, vice-chairman and rapporteur, Albert Jan Maat, vice-chairman; Gordon J. Adam, Danielle Auroi, Reimer Böge (for Encarnación Redondo Jiménez), Niels Busk, Christel Fiebiger, Christos Folias, Jean-Claude Fruteau, Georges Garot, Lutz Goepel, Willi Görlach, Liam Hyland, Elisabeth Jeggle, Salvador Jové Peres, Hedwig Keppelhoff-Wiechert, Heinz Kindermann, Christa Klaß (for Michl Ebner), Dimitrios Koulourianos, Xaver Mayer, Jan Mulder (for Giovanni Procacci), Karl Erik Olsson, Neil Parish, Christa Prets (for António Campos), Agnes Schierhuber, Robert William Sturdy and Marialiese Flemming (for João Gouveia, under Rule 153(2)). The opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy is attached. The report was tabled on 4 December 2003. PE 329.801 4/16 RR\516333EN.doc EN MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION on coexistence between genetically modified crops and conventional and organic crops (2003/2098(INI)) The European Parliament, – having regard to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC1, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed2, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and the traceability of food and feed products produced from genetically modified organisms and amending Directive 2001/18/EC3, – having regard to Commission Recommendation 2003/556/EC of 23 July 2003 on guidelines for the development of national strategies and best practices to ensure the coexistence of genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming4, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety5, – having regard to the draft Commission directive amending Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC, 2002/56/EC and 2002/57/EC as regards additional conditions and requirements concerning the adventitious or technically unavoidable presence of genetically modified seeds in seed lots of non-genetically modified varieties and the details of the information required for labelling in the case of seeds of genetically modified varieties, September 2003 version6, – having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs7, 1 OJ L 106, 17.4.2001, p. 1. 2 OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1. 3 OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 24. 4 OJ L 189, 29.7.2003, p. 36. 5 OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p.1. 6 SANCO/1542/2 July 2002. 7 OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1. RR\516333EN.doc 5/16 PE 329.801 EN – having regard to the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage1, – having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (A5-0465/2003), A. whereas coexistence between genetically modified varieties on the one hand and non- genetically modified conventional and organic varieties on the other hand provides the basis for freedom of choice for both consumers and farmers and is at the same time the precondition for risk management in dealing with GMOs, which is prescribed in the Community, B. whereas the extensive cultivation of GMOs will make it impossible, or at least extremely difficult, to exclude the outcrossing of genetically modified varieties with non-genetically modified useful plants, C. whereas there is a great deal of uncertainty among large sections of the population and many farmers regarding the use of GMOs in food production, D. whereas the current state of scientific knowledge regarding the outcrossing and spread of GMOs as a result of their extensive use is still limited and is insufficient for a precise estimate of the consequences, E. convinced that the introduction of GMOs in agriculture must not bring with it any additional costs for farmers who do not use these technologies and who wish to grow and market non-genetically modified products, F. whereas seed production takes place under particular conditions which must guarantee the highest possible degree of purity, and the limit value for the labelling of GMO-impurities in seed should be set at the technically measurable and reliable detection threshold, with account being taken of scientific assessments regarding practical applicability; whereas it will otherwise be impossible for agricultural production to ensure compliance with the current labelling threshold of 0.9% for food, G. whereas, if genetically modified organisms have been found to be present in their seed, farmers would no longer be able to claim that the presence of GMOs in their products is adventitious and technically unavoidable and, under the current legislation, they would then be obliged to label them and suffer potential losses of income, 1. Points out that information on the presence of GMOs in seed does not merely serve to inform farmers and consumers but is a precondition for the proper implementation of Directive 2001/18/EC (particularly as regards monitoring and placing on the market, the registration of cultivation, the expiry and withdrawal of authorisation and emergency measures) and the Regulations on the authorisation, labelling and traceability of GMOs; 1 OJ C 151 E, 25.6.2002, p. 132. PE 329.801 6/16 RR\516333EN.doc EN 2. Calls on the Commission to stipulate the labelling of GMOs in seed at the technically measurable and reliable detection threshold on the basis of Article 21(2) of Directive 2001/18/EC, and to take account of scientific assessments regarding practical applicability; 3. Calls for uniform and binding rules to be established without delay at Community level on the coexistence of genetically modified crops on the one hand, and non-genetically modified conventional crops on the other hand; calls for the European Parliament to be included in this process under the codecision procedure; 4. Calls on the Member States, in implementing Article 26a of Directive 2001/18/EC, to take legislative measures swiftly to safeguard the coexistence of genetically modified, conventional and organic crops; considers that it makes no sense at all that this requirement is not even mentioned in the Commission Recommendation; 5. Calls on the Commission, in view of contradictory scientific opinions on the costs of coexistence, to submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the economic impact of the requisite coexistence measures, taking account of the different cultivation conditions and plant species; 6. Welcomes the fact, bearing in mind the ‘polluter pays’ principle, that the Commission Recommendation states that ‘during the phase of introduction of a new production type in a region, operators (farmers) who introduce the new production type should bear the responsibility of implementing the farm management measures necessary to limit gene flow’; 7. Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal on Community-wide civil liability and insurance in respect of possible financial damage in connection with coexistence; 8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States