Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-13-Speech-2-249"
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"en.20010213.10.2-249"2
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"Mr President, the result of the conciliation that we have before us is a substantial improvement upon the rules for the release of GMOs into the environment. We are to obtain more stringent risk assessment requirements. The long-term effects of the many authorisations are also to be looked into. We are to have better monitoring, and we are to see time limits placed upon individual authorisations. I think that all this together will make an important contribution to the protection of the environment and the protection of public health. However, I have a couple of questions for the Commission about a number of matters I think it is important to have clarified today, for there are, of course, still a number of deficiencies in this area.
Firstly, I would ask the Commission to give an assurance today that, whenever we devise vertical legislation in different areas concerned with GMO crops, we also make sure that this vertical legislation respects the general directive we are now adopting on releases into the environment. My second question concerns labelling and traceability, for I really find it worrying that the Commission has not by now been in a position to submit a proposal on labelling. On this matter too, however, I would ask that we be given a more detailed explanation of the letter sent by Commissioner Byrne and Commissioner Wallström to the members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy and stating the desire to provide citizens with better information on GMOs. I do not think that the word “better” is enough. It is important for full information to be given and for there not, therefore, to be a system provided in which there are still a whole lot of gaps in the information given to consumers about GMOs. We are not interested in buying a pig in a poke. It is important that we obtain real consumer choice and that short measure is not given in this area. I therefore hope that we can obtain a statement on this issue today.
I could also do with an assurance from the Commission that, as has been mentioned, the way to new authorisations will not be opened until the new rules have come into force in 2002. The desire to insert conditions corresponding to the new rules in any authorisations given before the law comes into force is, of course, very commendable. However, if the law has not come into force, then it will not, of course, be possible to enforce these rules if the authorised businesses contravene them. I am therefore definitely of the view that one ought to respect the fact that the legislation must come into force before a start is made on issuing authorisations under the new rules. That is the only way we can be sure that it will, in actual fact, also be possible to enforce the rules."@en1
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