Trade tensions are increasing, and there is not much hope for an improvement in relations because the two sides fundamentally disagree about how to tackle public confidence. Americans, on the other hand, insist that the present discontent lies in a lack of public confidence in government, rather than an inherent mistrust in science. They blame public misgivings on the EU's opaque and secretive system for regulating food safety that, they argue, encourages decisions based on political opportunism rather than hard scientific evidence. Even EU officials agree that the system in Brussels is far from perfect. Requests for product approvals move at a leisurely pace through various committees of national experts as well as the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers.
Delays are inevitable.
The temptation for politicians to play to a gallery of activist consumer groups is often irresistible. In practice, the burden of responsibility lies with the Commission, which has to decide product approvals if the member states cannot agree. If it approves them, it risks the wrath of member states and a popular backlash. Thus, the Commission has been powerless to stop Austria, France, and Luxembourg from blocking the sale of GMO crops approved by Brussels. Although the Commission is preparing legal action against France, officials worry that if it steps up the pressure too fast, the fifteen EU member states could go their own way, causing the disintegration of the single market.