European Commission Rejects Polish GM Law

The European Commission has rejected a draft law submitted by Poland that would restrict GM cultivation in certain areas and place additional requirements on the use of GM seeds. According to the Commission, Poland failed to present new scientific evidence that GM crops pose threats to the environment. The Commission further stressed that Poland cannot use the “safety clause” foreseen in the European Union law as the basis for its GM ban.

 Poland reasons that obliging GM cultivation in certain zones is necessary because of the small-structured agricultural land use in the country. According to the government, the country has almost two million farms, with each farm not more than eight hectares and therefore isolating GM varieties from traditional or organic crops will be impossible.

But the Commission concluded that the Polish act is more restrictive that the EU directive. The Commission’s decision was dated as October 12, 2007 but was not published in the official journal until this week.

For more information read http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/news/325.docu.html  A copy of the Commission Decision is available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:016:0017:0025:EN:PDF