WRITTEN QUESTION E-3722/00 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Development of sugars and insects as a result of the altered composition of the unusable parts of genetically-modified plants.
Date: 2000-11-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU environmental policy, environmental impact, transgenic plant

C 174 E/126

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

19.6.2001

To this end, the Council and/or Member States were invited:

(cid:129) to tackle, at its source, illegal immigration, especially by combating those who engage in trafficking in

human beings and economic exploitation of migrants,

(cid:129) to adopt legislation to this end, foreseeing severe sanctions against this serious crime,

(cid:129) to direct, together with Europol, the efforts to detect and dismantle the organised criminal networks

involved,

(cid:129) to secure the rights of the victims of trafficking in persons with special emphasis on women and

children,

(cid:129) to assist the countries of origin and of transit in order to help the authorities of those countries to
strengthen their ability to combat effectively trafficking in human beings and to cope with their
readmission obligations towards the Union and the Member States, and

(cid:129) to promote closer co-operation and mutual technical assistance between the Member States(cid:146) border
control services, such as exchange programmes and technology transfers, especially on maritime
borders.

It follows from the division of powers between the Community and Member States that especially the
latter point has to be implemented by the Member States. The Commission does not have any operational
or executive powers in the field of illegal immigration and Community legislation providing for a fair
burden-sharing of the costs related to the controls of the Union(cid:146)s external borders does not yet exist.
Accordingly, there is currently hardly any possibility for the Commission to directly assist the Italian
regions most hit by illegal immigration. As far as the issue of possible secondary movements of illegal
immigrants within the Union is concerned, the Commission would like to refer the Honourable Member to
Article 23 of the 1990 Schengen Implementing Convention which sets out the principles applicable in
such cases.

As indicated in its recent Communication on a Community Immigration Policy (1), the Commission will
present, in the first half of 2001, a special Communication on the future return policy of the Community.

(1) COM(2000) 757 final.

(2001/C 174 E/130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3722/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(30 November 2000)

Subject: Development of sugars and insects as a result of the altered composition of the unusable parts of

genetically-modified plants

1.
Is the Commission aware of a recent scientific study, carried out at Southern Illinois University in the
USA and published in (cid:145)New Scientist(cid:146) on 23 September 2000, which points to hitherto unknown dangers
in the harvesting of genetically-modified and other novel types of plants?

2.
Is the Commission aware that, according to this study, the altered composition of the plant may
result in the local ecological balance being disturbed as a result of the abnormal levels of substances such
as sugars in the unusable harvested parts of these types of plant, which may lead to their attracting
different species of insect than the original (non-genetically-manipulated) plant?

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/127

Is the Commission aware that the supervisory authorities are only concerned with the saleable
3.
products derived from a plant (whether GMO or non-GMO) and that only the useable parts are tested for
equivalence of composition, so that changes to the composition of other parts of the plant remain
unnoticed and thus in practice unsupervised?

4.
Is the Commission aware that it is now possible to compare the genetic activity of the original plant
and the new species by means of DNA analysis, and of the researcher(cid:146)s opinion that this analysis requires
refinement because it is currently at the (cid:145)experimental(cid:146) stage?

Does the Commission agree with this scientist, who is supported by concerned bodies such as (cid:145)Gene
in thinking that such an analysis (cid:129) in spite of still being at the experimental stage and
importance to prevent the even more expensive future

5.
Watch UK(cid:146),
regardless of the possible costs (cid:129) is of vital
environmental problems which might be caused by disturbing the natural balance?

6. What possibilities does the Commission see of adapting the proposed legislation on GMOs to the
most recent scientific discoveries?

Does the Commission propose to take account of these results, in accordance with the precautionary

7.
principle, in the forthcoming legislation?

Answer given by Mr Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2001)

1. and 2.
The potential effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) described in the New Scientist
article relating to a conference report have to be taken into account in the environmental risk assessment
according to Council Directive 90/220/EEC of 23 April 1990 on the deliberate release into the environ-
ment of genetically modified organisms (1). Such a risk assessment has to be carried out before a consent
may be given for placing a genetically modified organism on the market. It appears therefore that the
conference report does not refer to new information that is not already taken into account under the risk
assessment of Directive 90/220/EEC. A more thorough evaluation of the report cited can only be given
after assessment of the original data presented at the conference after publication in a peer-reviewed
journal.

3.
The procedures for the environmental risk assessment laid down in Directive 90/220/EEC, foresee
that the complete GMO and not only parts of it are taken into account. For example, in the case of oilseed
rape not only the seed, but the whole oilseed rape plant is taken into account in the risk assessment.

4. and 5.
The issue of (cid:145)substantial equivalence(cid:146), which is referred to in the question is currently being
intensively discussed in the scientific community. This discussion is also taken up by the scientific
committees set up at Community level and involved in the assessment of product approvals. These
discussions on (cid:145)substantial equivalence(cid:146) also include the assessment of the current best practices or methods
to be used in order to further define the principle of (cid:145)substantial equivalence(cid:146).

6. and 7. Mandatory involvement of the independent scientific committees in the environmental risk
assessment of notifications, as is foreseen under the revised Directive 90/220/EEC, ensures that the latest
scientific developments and techniques are applied in the risk assessment. In addition a (cid:145)safeguard clause(cid:146) in
Directive 90/220/EEC enables Member States to ban specific approved products should new scientific
evidence justify the re-evaluation of that product.

The precautionary principle relates to a structured approach to the analysis of risk, which comprises three
elements: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. The precautionary principle is not a
new concept. It has been used by the Community for some time in a range of policy areas (cid:129) environment,
human, animal and plant health (cid:129) and it is explicitly mentioned in the environmental provisions of the EC
Treaty.

(1) OJ L 117, 8.5.1990.