The White Paper on Food Safety adopted by the European Commission in January this year includes a timetable for a number of proposals. This has resulted in a complete standstill in the current authorisations and a de facto moratorium on the commercial release of GMOs. The directive will, of course, have then to be subsequently transposed into national laws. I have to say that the biotechnology industry has moved forward very quickly without taking sufficient account of the concerns of society and has failed to inform consumers as to the merits of this technology. Furthermore, it has to be recognised that most of the GMOs currently on the market are targeted to provide benefits for producers, not consumers.
Biotechnology is a new area.
Because of this I believe that it is fully justified that authorisations should be reviewed and time-limited and that genetically modified organisms are carefully monitored in the light of evolving science . Indeed, when important new scientific information on an authorised product becomes available, a new scientific assessment should be carried out. However, we have to address, and I would very much welcome your ideas and expertise on these issues, what in concrete terms traceability, and labelling, mean. My last answer will be on the international dialogue necessary on all these issues. You know as well as I do that we live in an interdependent world.