EU to push approving GMOs, could come in few weeks

Europe will quietly press ahead with authorising more genetically modified (GMO) crops, if necessary without the blessing of EU governments or the majority of European consumers, the EU's executive said on Tuesday. The first could be approved in a matter of weeks. Holding its first debate on GMO policy since January 2004, the European Commission said it was ready to push a backlog of GMO requests through the EU's complex authorisation process if member states could not break their years of deadlock over GMOs.
"The Commission concluded that it would continue to comply fully with its legal obligations and proceed with the approval of pending authorisations as appropriate," it said.
Green groups say the Commission's pledge to return to "business as usual" on GMOs flies in the face of public opinion - although the biotech industry disputes this - since most EU consumers oppose GMOs, calling them "Frankenstein foods".
One aim of the Commission is to see clearer member-state positions on GMOs. Since taking office in November, the new team has put several key decisions "on hold" while it sorts out a common position on the way forward for biotech policy.
One of these, a Commission approval of a GMO rapeseed, was due for mid-January and can now be expected within a few weeks, officials say.
A proposal on whether to order a handful of EU governments to lift national bans on specific GMO products should be debated by environment ministers in June. "This morning, the Commission was not trying to question the existing system," Commission spokeswoman Francoise Le Bail told a news briefing. "What the Commission would like to see is that member states assume more responsibility within the system."
More and more countries now abstain in GMO votes, which reduces the chances of a consensus agreement. A small group always votes in favour, such as Finland and the Netherlands; a counter-group, including Austria, Denmark and Greece, always votes against. The rest either abstain or vary their vote.
When this happens, EU law allows for the Commission to take a decision when member states fail to do so themselves.
Surveys show more than 70 percent of European consumers oppose GMO foods, usually on health and environment grounds, although these figures are disputed by the biotech industry, which claims that a "silent majority" holds different views.
Only one EU country, Spain, grows substantial amounts of GMO crops and the continent as a whole remains a major holdout against the spread of the largely US-engineered plants, which are meant to increase yields and be resistant to pests.
"Consumers don't want to eat genetically modified foods, regions across Europe want GM crops banned and member states refuse to support new applications," said Adrian Bebb at Friends of the Earth. "This has all been ignored by the Commission."
Commission officials hinted that one goal was to reduce Europe's high level of scepticism over biotech foods.
EU member states have not themselves approved any new GMO since 1998, when a moratorium on new approvals came into effect.
This was triggered when a handful of governments said they would refuse to endorse new approvals until there were tougher laws on GMO traceability and labelling.
The moratorium, which inspired an international trade suit against the EU from Argentina, Canada and the United States, was lifted by a legal default procedure in May 2004.