Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-15-Speech-4-046"
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"en.20010315.4.4-046"2
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"Mr President, as many fellow Members have already stated, I believe that the biotechnology industry can bring about improvements, particularly in medicine, but I think that it would be naïve to believe that it can solve all the world’s problems.
When I hear what some Members have to say, or when I read certain passages in the report, I am stunned and astounded. World hunger, unexpected climate change, protection of the environment, all these problems could be resolved tomorrow thanks to the benefits of biotechnology. I think that it would be just as naïve to simply disregard the possible risks, excesses and abuses, all the more so because we are already seeing some of them taking place.
The risks and excesses could either be curbed or increased depending on developments in legislation both in the European Union and internationally. I would like to make just two points. The first relates to drug patenting. We are now seeing the problems of access to generic drugs to combat AIDS in the African nations, Brazil and countries in Asia. Given the pharmaceutical industry’s propensity for the use of biotechnology in future drugs, I think that this problem will only grow worse and that we will therefore have to ensure that patent legislation does not prevent production and parallel imports of generic drugs to combat great scourges and serious diseases, which threaten the poorest nations.
My second point relates to patents on genetic discoveries. I think that a clear distinction must certainly be made between patents on inventions and patents on discoveries, especially since biological riches are concentrated in the countries of the South, in tropical areas, because, otherwise, we will once again see the countries of the South being plundered so that major laboratories of industrialised nations can benefit. In any case, we must put an end to the ‘patenting of life forms’.
The third point, which will bring me to my conclusion, is that I believe fundamental decisions, particularly on releasing GMOs, must continue to come under political responsibility. The European Food Safety Authority will most probably play a crucial role in providing expertise, information and recommendations, but it is the competent authorities which must, on a political level, continue to authorise the release of GMOs. As long as problems such as traceability, labelling and determining responsibility for damage persist and as long as we have no guarantees on risks, I believe that we are justified in continuing the moratorium."@en1
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