The Commission will adopt a proposal to authorise import and processing of a type of GMO maize (NK603).
All GM seed varieties have to be approved and authorised in the EU for cultivation under Directive 2001/18 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms or under the Regulation 1829/2003 on genetically modified food and feed.
Authorisation is only granted after a positive scientific assessment has concluded that no unacceptable risks to the environment or human health is likely to appear.
All GM seeds varieties have to be labelled as such. Also conventional seeds will have to be labelled above a certain minuscule threshold as containing GM seeds. This threshold remains to be set.
The Commission proposed this threshold to the Regulatory Committee established under Directive 2001/18 composed of Member States representatives, which did not reach the qualified majority necessary to support the Commission proposal.
However, the Commission will now, in the coming weeks, formally adopt the proposal to be sent to the Council of Ministers.
The Council can either adopt or reject the proposal with a qualified majority. If no decision is taken after three months, the file returns to the Commission which can then adopt it.
If authorized, the maize will only be allowed for import after 18 April 2004 and the products that would contain it will be clearly labelled.
