Doc. 9248
8 October 2001

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mr Birraux and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

The Assembly is concerned at developments in public perceptions of the problem of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

      On the one hand, GMOs are presented as the future panacea which will provide a solution to famine. However, to date, most genetically modified crop varieties are to be found in industrialised countries and the transformations they have undergone are designed to meet problems specific to those countries: to increase herbicide, virus and insect resistance , improve taste or delay rotting.

      The Assembly notes the theoretical risks linked to GMOs. Firstly, in most cases, foreign genes are inserted into a portion of the genome of the host organism, without it always being possible to predict all of the consequences. Then there are the risks caused by accidental or deliberate release of GMOs into the environment, whereby they sometimes invade entire ecosystems or, if they prove to be harmful, develop to the detriment of other organisms.

      The Assembly also notes the particular approach taken by the United States towards GMOs, based on the principle that unless the risk of products being poisonous is established, they are considered safe for consumption; this approach may be incompatible with the principle of precaution and lead to paradoxical situations in countries which wish to take account of this principle.

      The initial positions taken by countries in western Europe with regard to the drafting of rules and regulations governing GMOs also range from complete refusal to total indifference.

      The Assembly condemns acts designed to destroy GMO trials and which deliberately jeopardise carefully supervised lawful scientific experiments authorised by the public authorities. In its opinion such acts are incompatible with freedom of research and the rule of law.

      In view of the imperative need to adopt a consistent paneuropean approach to the GMO issue, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

- thoroughly study the problem of GMOs and devise appropriate national information policies so that the public at large is properly informed on this subject and so that the somewhat heated debate now taking place in most parts of Western Europe is based on scientific facts;

- encourage researchers to undertake more advanced research in order to improve scientific knowledge about GMOs, so as to lay the foundations for a large-scale exchange of points of view as a basis for scientific discussion and public debate;

- prohibit the import, sale and cultivation of any transgenic plant with established risks for consumers or ecosystems – limited though they may be;

- encourage companies undertaking research in GMOs to direct their activities more towards the specific needs of developing countries and those regularly confronted with famine, ie aim to develop crops with greater resistance to drought and natural disasters and a higher yield and nutritional value;

– propose that a legal framework be established to ensure that consumers are informed – by means of suitable labelling – of the possible presence of GMOs in foodstuffs available on the market.

Signed¹

Birraux, France, EPP/CD

Agudo, Spain,SOC

Berceanu, Romania, SOC

Billing, Sweden, EDG

Damanaki, Greece, UEL

de Puig, Spain, SOC

Duka-Zólyomi, Slovakia, EPP/CD

Ehrmann, France, LDR

Gaburro, Italy, NR

Hoeffel, France, EPP/CD

Isohookana-Asunmaa, Finland, LDR

Le Guen, France, SOC

Prisacaru, Romania, SOC

Roseta, Portugal, EPP/CD

Roudy, France, SOC

Schicker, Austria, SOC

Tiuri, Finland, EDG

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group