Romania
Organisations and institutions active on GMO
Greenpeace Romania
InfOMG - Romania and The Information Tour Website (Romanian)
National Federation of Organic Farmers (FNAE) (Romanian)
Agent Green
Official and institutional links
Inspecţia de Stat pentru Controlul Organismelor Modificate Genetic (ISCOMG), State Agency for the Control of genetically modified organisms (Romanian)
Updates + Overviews
50 communes and four cities have declared themselves GMO-free.
In the county of Cluj: Huedin, Mărgău, Beliş, Râşca, Mănăstireni, Măguri Răcătău, Mărişel, Poieni, Ciucea, Negreni, Săcuieu, Călăţele, Sâncraiu and Izvoru Crişului.
In the county of Bistrita Nasaud: Nasaud and Sangeorz-Bai, Chiochis, Chiuza, Cosbuc, Dumitra, Feldru, Ilva-Mare, Ilva - Mica, Lesu, Lunca - Ilvei, Maieru, Magura - Ilvei, Nimigea, Nuseni, Parva, Poiana Ilvei, Rebra, Rebrisoara, Rodna, Romuli, Runcu Salvei, Salva, Sant, Telciu, Zagra.
In the county of Brașov: Șinca Nouă.
In the county of Vâlcea: Ionești.
In the Hartibaciu Micro-region, Sibiu County: 12 communes and 1 city (Cornatel, Rosia, Vurpar, Nocrich, Mihaileni, Altina, Chirpar, Bruiu, Merghindeal, Birghis, Iacobeni, Bradeni, Agnita).
The Romanian Government officially banned GMO Soya in January 2007, when Romania entered the EU. Greenpeace, however, discovered large-scale illegal commercial cultivation of the crop in 2007. The Romanian authorities do not seem to be taking any control over illegal GMO production.
Declaration of the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and rural Development (Romanian)
Press release from Greenpeace (English)
From January 2007 on, the cultivation of herbicide resistant Roundup Ready soybeans is banned in Romania. In 2006 around 140.000 hectares of GM soybeans were planted.
The GMO Free Zones declaration represents the official commitment of local authorities, to the extent of their legal and organizational powers, to cultivate no GMOs on their land. Also, the local authorities are asking the relevant national and regional politicians to make sure that no GM plant is will be cultivated this year and in the future in the entire country and to ensure them that the rights of the farmers who want to produce GM-free crops are in future legally protected and that all suitable measures are employed in order to avoid any GM contamination of their land and harvest.
Presentations
Lucern, April 2009
Gabriel Paun, Agent Green, GE free Romanian NGO, “Food & Democracy”
Presentation: Romania - GE status (pdf, 1,5 MB, English)
Legal documents
OUG nr.43/2007 emergency ordinance on the introduction into the environment and placing on the market of genetically modified organisms published in Monitorul Oficial, Partea I, nr.435 din 28.06.2007; (Romanian)
Ordinul MAPDR nr.237/2006, authorized growers of GMO published in Monitorul Oficial, Partea I, nr. 337 din 14.04.2006; (Romanian)
Ordinul MAPDR nr.471/2006 supplement and amendment of the Ordinul MAPDR nr.237/2006 published in Monitorul Oficial, Partea I, nr. 663 din 2.08.2006 (Romanian)
OUG nr.195/2005 rule on the protected areas, publicat în Monitorul Oficial, Partea I, nr.1196 din 30.12.2005;
HG nr. 173/2006, rule on the traceability and the labeling of genetically modified organisms and the traceability of food and feed produced from genetically modified organisms, published in the Official Gazette no. 206/6.03.2006 (Romanian) (Romanian)
Greenpeace puts GMO quarantine on Braila Island/Romania
Other background information
Civil Society and GMO Policy in Eastern Europe, Sebastian Striegel, Germany, Diploma thesis written at freie universität Berlin
EU Commission, September 2006:
"Some positive developments can be reported in the field of old approach legislation as regards the control of cultivation, production and marketing of GMOs. Romania has completed the transposition of the food safety legislation. The regulatory framework necessary to set up a system of registration and control of GMO crops is in place including a ban on cultivation of GM soya as of accession.
However, certain concerns persist. The enforcement of the legal framework needs significant improvement. In particular, preparations for a well-defined control system have to be stepped up in order to ensure that the entire genetically modified (GM) soybean harvest in 2006 is accounted for, sent to processing factories and labelled and traced according to EC requirements. Romania does not yet ensure that GM seeds stored at farms are under full control and will not be used for cultivation after accession. Laboratories for food and feed and for seed quality are not yet fully operational. The Romanian authorities need to ensure a practical and efficient implementation of the GMO action plan, which was elaborated in June 2006."
Communication from the Commission: Monitoring report on the state of preparedness for EU membership of Bulgaria and Romania
Romania bans GM soybean growing (February 2006)
The Romanian government has decided to ban the growing of Roundup Ready soybeans from 1. January 2007. Permits to continue growing in 2006 will be given only under special conditions. This is a major blow to Monsanto's strategy to use the country, where last year around 140.000 hectares were planted to the GM soybeans, as a hub to introduce GMO cultivation in Europe.
GM crops in Romania: A poisoned promise, Dragos Dima (November 2005)
GM Contamination Register, Cases of GM contamination in Romania, Gabriel Paun,Greenpeace (January 2006):
US Department of Agriculture: Annunal Agricultural Biotech Report
Report Highlights: "Romanian’s role as a biotech promoter is clearly in jeopardy, despite the continued support from farmers, and a core group of pro-biotech GOR officials..."
Der Spiegel (2005), Wildwuchs im Hinterhof, US seed companies misuse Romania as experimental laboratory and as reloading centre for their GM and hybrid products. From here they try to conquer the whole EU. (German) page 2
Iza Kruszewska, ANPED (2003), Romania: The Dumping Ground for Genetically Engineered Crops
A 56 page report about the threat to Romania's Agriculture, Biodiversity and EU Accession.
