Denmark backs EU GMO task force
this week to ask for a European task force to be set up on
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), reports CORDIS.
At the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 18 and 19 October, the two countries, both traditional opponents of biotech foods, will contend that the EU needs a special task force to assist member states in deciding how their farmers should separate conventional, organic and GM crops.
"This task force would ensure that the collection and dissemination of information be coordinated in the EU and contribute towards identifying research requirements concerning co-existence," states the Danish delegation to the EU in a note, endorsed by Italy, to be read at the Council meeting on 18 October, according to CORDIS.
The European Commission published guidelines on the co-existence of different crop types in July 2003 and left it up to national governments to create laws based on those guidelines. Denmark is one of the only countries to have done so.
Denmark and Italy both feel that in the absence of common EU rules, "it is vital that common rules for coexistence be laid down" according to the Danish note.
In a move that split the Italian government last week, ministers blocked a motion put forward by the agriculture minister aimed at regulating the future introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Italy.
In the wake of last month's Commission decision that paved the way for EU farmers to commercially grow up to 17 different types of GM maize seeds, the agriculture minister Gianni Alemanno had proposed a law strictly regulating the planting of GM crops.
"There is still a lot to know on GMOs and if we show ourselves to be too flexible now, we might one day find ourselves in an ungovernable situation," said the minister, explaining his cautious approach, adding that 12 Italian regions have declared themselves GMO-free.
