General issues

1. What are GMOs?
2. Facts and figures about GMOs
3. Who assesses the safety of GMOs?

GM Food and Feed

1. Is the placing on the EU market of GM food and feed governed by any legislation?
2. What are the principles of the Regulation on GM food and feed?
3. What is the authorisation procedure under the Regulation on GM food and feed?
4. Have GMOs already been approved for use in food or feed products?
5. What are the current rules on genetically modified varieties and seeds?
6. What is the timeline for GM food and feed approval?

GMOs in the environment

1. What are GMOs released into the environment?
2. What does Directive 2001/18/EC introduce?
3. What is the procedure for authorisation of the experimental release of GMOs into the environment?
4. What is the procedure for authorising the placing on the market of GMOs as such or as a component in products?
5. How is the environmental risk of GMOs assessed?
6. Have GMOs already been authorised for release into the environment?

Ban on GMOs

1. What are the national safeguard measures?
2. Are there any national safeguard measures concerning GM foods?
3. Are any national safeguard measures concerning GM seed varieties included in the common catalogue of varieties?
4. Which EU countries ban the cultivation of GMOs?

Rules on GMOs already on the market

1. Why it is important to trace GMOs in the EU market?
2. How does traceability work in practice?
3. What are the rules on traceability of GMOs?
4. What are the rules on labelling of GMO products?
5. Exemption from the traceability and labelling requirements.
6. Will the meat or milk of an animal fed with GM feed also be labelled as genetically modified?

Asynchronous authorisations

1. What is asynchronous authorisation?
2. What is the impact of GMO asynchronous authorisations on the EU market?

Contamination with unauthorised GMOs

1. Emergency Measures

Co-existence

1. What are the rules on co-existence between transgenic crops and traditional or organic crops?

   The cultivation of GM crops will have implications for the organisation of agricultural productions. Pollen flow between adjacent fields is a natural phenomenon. Because of the labelling requirements for GM food and feed, this may have economic implications for farmers who want to produce traditional plants intended for food.

   Co-existence is about giving farmers the practical choice between conventional, organic and GM crop production in compliance with the legal obligations for labelling and purity standards.

   According to Directive 2001/18/EC (Article 26a), Member States may take appropriate measures to avoid the unintended presence of GMOs in other products.

   In order to help the Member States in developing national approaches to co-existence, the Commission adopted, on 23 July 2003, a Recommendation (2003/556/EC) on guidelines for the development of national strategies and best practices to ensure the co-existence of genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming.

   (http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/publi/reports/coexistence2/guide_en.pdf)

   The guidelines state that approaches to co-existence need to be developed in a transparent way, based on technical guidelines and in co-operation with all stakeholders concerned. The guidelines are based on experiences with existing segregation practices (e.g. in certified seed production); at the same time they ensure an equitable balance between the interests of farmers of all production types.

   Further, they state that management measures to ensure co-existence should be efficient and cost-effective, without going beyond what is necessary to comply with EU threshold levels for GMO labelling. They should be specific to different types of crop, since the probability of admixture varies greatly from one crop to another; while for some crops the probability is high (e.g. oilseed rape) for others the probability is fairly low (e.g. potatoes). In addition, local and regional aspects should be fully taken into account.

   Farmers should be able to choose the production type they prefer, without forcing them to change patterns already established in the area. As a general principle, during the phase of introduction of a new production type in a region, farmers who introduce the new production type should bear the responsibility of implementing the actions necessary to limit admixture.

   Continuous monitoring and evaluation and the timely sharing of best practices are indicated as imperatives for improving the measures adopted.

   Priority should be given to farm-level management measures and to measures aimed at co-ordination between neighbouring farms. If it can be demonstrated that these measures can not ensure co-existence, regional measures could be considered (e.g. restriction on the cultivation of a certain type of GMO in a region). Such measures should apply only to specific crops whose cultivation would be incompatible with ensuring co-existence in the region, and their geographical scale should be limited as possible. Region-wide measures should be justified for each crop and type (e.g. seed and crop production separately).

   Many Member States have already started to develop national approaches to co-existence. At present, four Member States have adopted legislation at national or provincial level providing for specific co-existence rules (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Portugal).

   On 9 March 2006 the Commission reported to the Council and the European Parliament on the state of implementation of national co-existence measures.

   Summary co-existence report 2009: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/coexistence/com2009_153_sum_en.pdf

   

The international environment

1. Is the regulatory framework in line with international trade rules?
2. Codex Alimentarius
3. What are the rules governing the movement and international trade of GMOs?
4. WTO case on GMO
5. OECD