A4-0167/95

Resolution containing Parliament's recommendations to the Commission and Council on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the setting-up of an ad hoc group of experts to examine the modalities of a Biosafety Protocol,

- having regard to its opinion of 25 June 1993 ((OJ C 194, 19.7.1993, p. 401.)) on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COM(92)0509 - C3-0046/93),

- having regard to the Council Decision of 25 October 1993 ((OJ L 309, 13.12.1993, p. 1.)) on the conclusion of the Convention on Biological Diversity,

- having regard to Rule 90(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0167/95),

A. whereas the European Union and the majority of its Member States have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992,

B. whereas Article 19.3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity binds the contracting Parties to consider the need for and modalities of a Protocol on the safe handling, transfer and use of any living organism resulting from biotechnology which may have an adverse effect on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity,

C. whereas the United Nations Environment Programme convened a special body (Panel 4) to carry out this examination, and whereas Panel 4 concluded in March 1993 that there was a need for such an international legally binding Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity,

D. whereas, in adopting its above-mentioned opinion, Parliament supported the conclusions of Panel 4,

E. whereas, nonetheless, the representatives of the European Union were reported not to have promoted the adoption of such a protocol in the First Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the preparatory meetings which preceded it, supporting instead a system of voluntary guidelines,

F. whereas an 'open-ended ad-hoc group of experts¨ nominated by governments has been established and will meet in Madrid from 24 to 28 July 1995, to examine further the need for and modalities of a Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in order to make a recommendation to the Second Conference of the Parties, which will take place in Indonesia in November 1995,

G. whereas recent reports have shown that there is a considerable international traffic in genetically modified organisms which is completely unregulated, and that deliberate releases of such organisms are being carried out in many developing countries which have no legislation or infrastructure to ensure their safe use, and whereas this situation is putting the entire biosphere of the planet at risk,

I. Addresses the following recommendations to the Commission and the Council:

1. Reiterates its strongly held position that a legally binding international Biosafety Protocol is necessary and a matter of urgency and must be immediately negotiated by the States Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity;

2. Requests the Council to mandate the representatives of the EU at the Second Conference of the Parties and any preparatory meetings where the EU is represented, such as the Madrid meeting in July 1995, to put forward the position that a legally binding Biosafety Protocol is necessary as a matter of urgency;

3. The Biosafety Protocol should regulate the entire life cycle of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) and their products, covering all aspects of research, development, handling, use, safe transfer as well as safe disposal after use, whether under contained conditions or released to the environment, and, in view of the difficulty of predicting the potential environmental consequences of releasing GEOs to the environment, it should be based on the precautionary principle applied on a case-by-case and step-by-step basis;

4. The Biosafety Protocol should address, as a minimum, the following issues:

(a) the effects of the transfer and use of GEOs on environments other than that in which they were developed and tested;

(b) the cumulative impact on natural ecosystems over time of ever-increasing numbers of genetically engineered organisms;

(c) comprehensive environmental risk assessment procedures, including assessment of the effects and interactions of GEOs with other species, including microorganisms, and the level of certainty of this assessment;

(d) human health impact assessment of GEOs and their products;

(e) socio-economic impact assessment of GEOs and their products, including assessment of the effects of the replacement or substitution of traditional biological resources used by indigenous and local communities and the general effects upon traditional knowledge and technologies;

(f) principles and scope of procedures for advance informed consent, including provisions for mandatory labelling of GEOs and their products at the national and international levels to provide information on the constructs involved;

(g) specification of appropriate risk management measures, including post-release and post-marketing measures and emergency planning;

(h) public participation in authorization decisions and guaranteed access to information;

(i) specification of training and education requirements for risk managers, and designation of appropriate risk management bodies, including scientists from a wide variety of disciplines;

5. Requests the Commission and the Council to inform the Parliament of the progress of these negotiations, or the absence of negotiations, and to submit to Parliament the draft agreement for its opinion or assent prior to its being signed on behalf of the European Union;

6. Recommends the Conference of the Parties to adopt a moratorium on transfer of GEOs to and from countries having no biosafety legislation until such time as a legally-binding international Biosafety Protocol has been added to the Convention on Biological Diversity;

7. Urges the Member States as individual Parties to the Biodiversity Convention to work toward adoption as soon as possible of a legally binding Biosafety Protocol to the Convention;

8. Urges the Council and Commission to make sufficient funds available in the EU budget to ensure effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its protocols;

II. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of Member States.