Articles

Thursday 12 June 2014: Environment Council

The Council is expected to reach political agreement on the proposal for a regulation amending

directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for member states to restrict or prohibit the

cultivation, in all or part of their territory, of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that have

been authorized at EU level.

The Commission presented its GMO cultivation proposal (12371/10 + ADD 1) in July 2010 with the

aim of providing a legal basis to allow member states to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs

in their territory on grounds other than health and environment considerations, which had already

been addressed during the EU authorization process for GMOs. The proposal has been examined

under several presidencies since then and following the exchange of views at the Environment

Council of March 2014, member states showed willingness to re-open discussions on the proposal, on the basis of the Presidency compromise text.