Many countries have criticized the proposal to authorize genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by the European Commission. These criticisms were presented at the meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held last week.
Brazil said that the proposed amendment would allow Member States to restrict or prohibit the use of GMOs without justifiable reasons. Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, USA and Canada also had similar concerns, noting that the proposed revision would create unnecessary barriers in international trade.
The EU, by contrast, argued that the proposal does not introduce any restrictions or prohibitions, only provides the possibility to choose a member of the authorization decision that EU states if they wish. For the Commission, but a proposal that restricts a proposal to authorize.
A few days ago, the Commission proposal received a setback in the Environment Committee of the European Parliament. A majority of MEPs were against the proposal and requested that a new proposal was submitted. They considered that it had not included an impact assessment, which measures Member States may not be compatible with the single market or with the WTO rules and that the proposal could prove unworkable.
The proposal by the European Commission on GMO authorizations provides that Member States will have more freedom to restrict or prohibit on its territory the use of authorized GMOs in the EU in food or feed.
