No immediate moratorium on antibiotic-resistant GMOs, say MEPs
Calls to place an immediate ban on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) resistant to antibiotics were rejected recently by Members of the European Parliament. Instead, MEPs voted in favour of setting a definite date of 2005 for ruling out the use of antibiotic-resistant GMOs rather than phasing them out progressively. This was one of a series of amendments recently voted through by MEPs working on the European Parliament and Council's common position on proposals concerning the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment. Among the other amendments adopted was one calling on the Commission to present a proposal dealing with the impact of biotechnology within the EU. MEPs also called for environmental risk assessment to be strengthened and for the directive to be further amended and clarified in the light of the Montreal Biosafety Protocol drawn up earlier this year. An amendment requiring the prior consent of third countries importing GMOs was also adopted. Other rejected amendments concerned calls for the party legally responsible for a deliberate release to bear strict civil liability for any damage caused and measures to prevent gene-transfer from GMOs to other organisms in the environment.