The EU Food and Feed Chain partners are relieved by last week’s decision by the European Parliament to reject the European Commission’s proposal aimed at allowing EU Member States to opt-out from authorised Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for food and feed uses in the EU.

The partners strongly opposed the proposal and called on the EU Commission to withdraw it, in order to maintain legal certainty for business operators in the EU feed and livestock sectors, which are already facing a very challenging market situation.

In a statement, the partners explained that “Providing Member States with the possibility to impose national bans on EU-approved GMOs is in clear contradiction with the core principles of the EU’s internal market. By allowing that scientific findings on the safety of products be plainly overruled by non-science-based restrictions to the free movement of goods, the Commission would be setting a dangerous precedent that would severely undermine the reliability of the European food and feed chain.”

They believe that dismantlement of the single market would destabilise the balance of the EU commodities market and have a negative impact on the EU budget. This proposal would result in substantial commercial and legal risks for operators, condemning them to overly high costs and undue trade disruptions.

The EU Food and Feed Chain partners reiterated their call for a properly functioning and evidence-based EU policy on GMOs as a key element to secure the development and availability of innovative products to the benefit of consumers.