EC President Barroso Rebuts Reports of Favoring GMOs

The EC President, Jose Manuel Barroso, says he is committed to combining the EU system of allowing GMOs with the freedom of each Member State to make its own decision. Photo by BGNES

The European Commission issued Tuesday a statement rebutting media publications that its President, Jose Manuel Barroso, wants to speed up the process to allow 2 controversial GMOs in the EU.

The statement points out that the EC is not taking a stand for or against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) or any particular GMO product.

“The EC has always played the role in the procedure of GMO approval that it has been assigned to it under the EU legislation, approved by all Member States,” the declaration reads.

It defines the EC role as a clear division of the tasks among the countries members of the EU and a strict scientific assessment before making any decision.

The statement further explains that in his political guidelines for the new Commission, Barroso has proposed a true change by declaring that “in areas such as GMOs, it should be possible to combine the system of the EU to allow GMOs, based on science, with the freedom of each Member State to decide if they wish to cultivate GMOs on their territory."

Borroso says he is committed to this new approach and had assigned the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli to lead the development of a cohesive GMO frame, based on the requirements of the law and the public expectations, adding that details cannot be revealed at this stage.

Regarding concrete cases with MON810 and AMFLORA, and any other request to allow a GMO, the new EC will continue to fulfill its role and will make decisions on case by case basis while the exact dates to announce those decisions are yet to be determined, the statement concludes.

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