Agriculture Council adopts common position on GMO legislation
The Agriculture Council has adopted common positions on regulations covering genetically modified (GM) food and feed, and on the traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The positions were adopted during a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on 17 and 18 March. The regulation on GMO food and feed seeks to protect human and animal health, the environment and consumers rights with regard to GM products, as well as to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. The common position was adopted by a qualified majority without further debate, with the Luxembourg, Austrian and UK delegations voting against. The second regulation seeks to establish a common EU framework on the labelling and traceability of GMOs in order to guarantee accurate information on GM products and enable the monitoring of their effects on the environmental and human health. The common position was adopted without the support of the UK, Luxembourg, Dutch and Danish delegations. Both common positions will be forwarded to the European Parliament for a second reading.