PRESS RELEASE

European Parliament votes for organics

(Brussels, 29 March, 2007) - Environmental NGOs have welcomed today's rejection by the European Parliament of a proposal to allow traces of genetically modified organisms in organic food [1,2]. The result of the vote, say Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace, and the European Environmental Bureau, is a clear indication from European elected representatives that the right to GM-free food is non-negotiable. Parliament also voted in favour of requesting an equal say on the legislation with Member States, through the codecision procedure [3], so there will now be negotiations with the Council and Commission to resolve this conflict over legislative powers.

The NGOs warn that the 0.1% GMO contamination threshold should under no circumstances be used as a bargaining counter in the resolution of this conflict over legislative powers.

For further information please contact:-
Helen Holder, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe Tel : +32 (0)2 542 0182; Mobile +32 (0)474 857 638; E-mail: helen.holder@foeeurope.org

Marco Contiero, Senior Policy Advisor, GMOs, Greenpeace EU Unit Mobile: +32 477 777 034; E-mail: marco.contiero@diala.greenpeace.org

Mauro Albrizio, Vice-President, European Environmental Bureau Mobile: +32 (0)479 940 357; E-mail: legambiente@skynet.be

Notes for editors:-
[1] Proposal for a Council Regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (COM(2005)0671 - C6-0032/2006 - 2005/0278(CNS))

[2] The proposed law, if adopted as such, would allow 0.9% GMO contamination in organic foods. The law only allows this contamination as long as it is "adventitious" and "technically unavoidable", however there is evidence that the European Commission and other risk managers, under pressure to adopt a lax attitude to contamination, are, in fact, interpreting the 0.9% threshold to mean 'acceptable' contamination. The organic sector currently works to a lower threshold (detection level), which and EU laws must support, and to enable organic farmers and retailers to maintain existing standards.

[3] The codecision procedure gives the European Parliament the power to adopt legislation jointly with the Council of the European Union, requiring the two bodies to agree on an identical text before any proposal can become law.