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Ag Council Discusses GM Authorisations

Ag Council Discusses GM Authorisations

20 December 2011

EU - The Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting last week covered authorisation of four GM varieties (three of maize and one of cotton), animal welfare during transport, bluetongue vaccination, maximum residues limits (MRLs) for ractopamine in pigs and cattle, and guidelines for the control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat.

The 3137th meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council took place in Brussels on 15 to 16 December 2011, under the presidency of Marek Sawicki, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.

Main results of the Council

Concerning agriculture, proposals for decisions authorising the use of four genetically modified (GM) varieties in food, feed and for other uses were presented to the Council for adoption. No qualified majority was reached either for or against the authorisations.

In addition, ministers had an exchange of views on the CAP reform proposal for a regulation on rural development.

Without discussion, the Council adopted conclusions on the future of the promotion of agricultural promotion policy.

Concerning Fisheries, the ministers reached a political agreement on 2012 fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks for EU vessels in Union and certain non-Union waters and on fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks in the Black Sea.

Still in Fisheries, the Council had an exchange of views on the European maritime and fisheries fund and the proposal on certain measures in relation to countries allowing non-sustainable fishing. Ministers were also briefed on a proposal on certain measures in relation to countries allowing non-sustainable fishing.

Finally, the Council was briefed on the protection of animals during transport, on Codex Alimentarius negotiations, progress and prospects, on aid for processed citrus fruit and on decisions authorising the placing on the market of genetically modified organisms.

Over lunch, ministers discussed a risk management toolkit and innovation in the framework of the CAP reform (second pillar).

Authorisation of four genetically modified varieties

Proposals for decisions authorising the use of four genetically modified varieties in food, feed and for other uses, but excluding cultivation, were presented to the Council for adoption. No agreement was reached either in favour of or against the authorisations.

Following the submission of initial applications for authorisation of these genetically modified varieties, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had initially been consulted, as provided for by Regulation 1829/2003, and had issued favourable scientific opinions. On that basis, the European Commission drew up proposals for authorising these varieties, which were presented to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH). At its meeting on 9 February 2011, the SCoFCAH had been unable to achieve the qualified majority necessary to deliver an opinion for or against the authorisation measures proposed by the Commission. In the absence of an opinion it was up to the Council to act on the Commission proposals within a three-month period.

The Council noted that there was not a qualified majority either in favour of or against the following four proposals:

  • proposal for a decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified cotton 281-24-236x3006-210-23 from Dow
  • proposal for a decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize Bt11xMIR604xGA21 from Syngenta
  • proposal for a decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize Bt11xMIR604 from Syngenta, and
  • proposal for a decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize MIR604xGA21 from Syngenta

Now the Council has concluded its proceedings on this issue, the Commission is entitled to finalise the decision-making procedure in respect of all the proposals.

Decisions authorising the placing on the market of genetically modified organisms

The Hungarian delegation briefed the Council on the scope of Article 2c in decisions authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of, or produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (18417/11).

The standard Article 2c introduced since October 2007 in all decisions authorising the placing on the market of GMOs extends this authorisation beyond food and feed uses, i.e. to cover the same uses as any other relevant non-GMOs, with the exception of cultivation.

The Hungarian delegation, supported by Austria, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Slovenia and Greece expressed concerns about the authorisation of "any other uses" of GMOs which should be considered outside the scope of regulation 1829/2003 that was the legal basis for decisions on GMOs. While a risk assessment is carried out for food and feed purposes no such assessment is specifically performed for "any other uses".

The Commission noted the Hungarian request and will check this legal aspect of the current wording of the regulation. The Council legal service will also analyse the Hungarian request.

Welfare of animals during transport

The Council was briefed by the Commission on a report on the impact of regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport.

Several delegations welcomed the report, saying that they would look forward to the follow-up to this report. The future Danish Presidency indicated that this issue was one of its priorities.

The report describe progress on the application of the EU regulation on animal transport, and identifies several ways to address the problems that have arisen. However, the report is not accompanied by a legislative proposal. The Commission pointed out the need for a correct enforcement of certain measures and insisted on the harmonisation in the implementation of this regulation within the EU.

It was recalled that the Council had adopted regulation 1/2005 on protection of animal during transport in December 2004 after intense discussions over three consecutive Presidencies. Article 32 of Regulation 1/2005 instructed the Commission to present a report by 2011 "on the impact of the Regulation on the welfare of animals being transported and on the trade flows of live animals within the enlarged Community. […] This report may be accompanied if necessary by appropriate legislative proposals concerning long journeys, in particular as regards journey times, resting periods and space allowances."

Further Reading

You can view the full report by clicking here.

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