(4)

The following Article is inserted: ‧Article 26b Cultivation Member States may adopt , after a case-by-case examination, measures restricting or prohibiting the cultivation of all or particular GMOs or of groups of GMOs defined by crop or trait or of all GMOs authorised in accordance with Part C of this Directive or Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, and consisting of genetically modified varieties placed on the market in accordance with relevant Union legislation on the marketing of seed and plant propagating material, in all or part of their territory , provided that: [Am 40] (a) those measures are based on (i) duly justified grounds other than those related to the assessment of the adverse effect on health and environment relating to local or regional environmental impacts which might arise from the deliberate release or the placing on the market of GMOs and which are complementary to the environmental impacts examined during the scientific assessment of the impacts on the environment conducted under Part C of this Directive, or grounds relating to risk management. Those grounds may include: — the prevention of the development of pesticide resistance amongst weeds and pests; — the invasiveness or persistence of a GM variety, or the possibility of interbreeding with domestic cultivated or wild plants; — the prevention of negative impacts on the local environment caused by changes in agricultural practices linked to the cultivation of GMOs; — the maintenance and development of agricultural practices which offer a better potential to reconcile production with ecosystem sustainability; — the maintenance of local biodiversity, including certain habitats and ecosystems, or certain types of natural and landscape features; — the absence or lack of adequate data concerning the potential negative impacts of the release of GMOs on the local or regional environment of a Member State, including on biodiversity; (ii) grounds relating to socio-economic impacts. Those grounds may include: — the impracticability or the high costs of coexistence measures or the impossibility of implementing coexistence measures due to specific geographical conditions such as small islands or mountain zones; — the need to protect the diversity of agricultural production; — the need to ensure seed purity; or (iii) other grounds that may include land use, town and country planning, or other legitimate factors; [Am 41] (aa) in cases where those measures concern GM crops which are already authorised at Union level, Member States ensure that farmers who cultivated such crops legally have sufficient time to finish the current cultivation season; [Am 17] (ab) those measures have been the subject of a prior independent cost-benefit analysis, taking into account alternatives; [Am 42] (ac) those measures have been the subject of a prior public consultation lasting at least 30 days; [Am 19] and (b) those measures are in conformity with the Treaties , in particular the principle of proportionality . [Am 20] Under the same conditions, regions within Member States may also adopt measures restricting or prohibiting the cultivation of GMOs on their territory. [Am 51] Member States shall make publicly available any such measures to all operators concerned, including growers, at least six months before the start of the growing season. In the event that the GMO concerned is authorised less than six months before the start of the growing season, Member States shall make those measures publicly available upon their adoption. [Am 43] Member States shall adopt those measures for a maximum of five years and shall review them when the GMO authorisation is renewed . [Am 22] By way of derogation from Directive 98/34/EC, Member States that intend to adopt reasoned measures under this Article shall communicate them to the other Member States and to the Commission not later than one month prior to their adoption for information purposes.‧ [Am 23]