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Written question asked by Andrew George (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 19 April 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 28 April 2004. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 April 2004 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what efforts her Department has made to ensure that EU accession states have the required technical capacity and advice to ensure their compliance with (a) testing, (b) labelling and (c) traceability of GM crops and foods under EU regulations; what discussions she has had with (a) the EC and (b) her counterparts in the 10 EU accession states to seek a timetable for the compliance of the accession states with regulations (EC) 1829/2003 and (EC) 1830/2003 on the labelling and traceability of genetically modified crops; what efforts her Department is making to ensure that (a) EU member states and (b) EU accession states comply with EU rules on genetically modified crops, including regulations (i) (EC) No. 1829/2003 and (ii) (EC) No. 1830/2003 under directive 2001/18/EC on traceability and labelling.
Answer

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what efforts her Department has made to ensure that EU accession states have the required technical capacity and advice to ensure their compliance with (a) testing, (b) labelling and (c) traceability of GM crops and foods under EU regulations; [167418] (2) what discussions she has had with (a) the EC and (b) her counterparts in the 10 EU accession states to seek a timetable for the compliance of the accession states with regulations (EC) 1829/2003 and (EC) 1830/ 2003 on the labelling and traceability of genetically modified crops; [167419] (3) what efforts her Department is making to ensure that (a) EU member states and (b) EU accession states comply with EU rules on genetically modified crops, including regulations (i) (EC) No.1829/2003 and (ii) (EC) No.1830/2003 under directive 2001/18/EC on traceability and labelling. [167420] Mr. Morley: Directive 2001/18 on the deliberate release into the environment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is part of the aquis communautaire for the new member states. New Regulations on traceability and labelling of GMOs (Regulation (EC) 1830/2003) and GM food and feed (Regulation (EC) 1829/2003) are not formally included in the "aquis communautaire" for accession states as negotiations were closed in December 2002. However, the regulations will apply in new member states from 1 May 2004, and new member states will be required to have appropriate legislative frameworks in place. The new Regulations took effect in existing member states from 18 April 2004. All these Regulations require member states to introduce a proportionate and effective hierarchy of offences and penalties related to the potential seriousness of the failure to comply with the various EU requirements. The Commission is required to produce Community- wide guidance in relation to the new Regulations, including guidance on sampling and testing, to ensure a co-ordinated approach between member states. Work on this is still under way. The Secretary of State has not explicitly discussed the application of these Regulations with current or accession member states. However, officials from my Department and the Food Standards Agency continue to liaise with their counterparts in other member states through Regulatory and Standing Committees and informal contacts.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
420 c1013-4W; 167418;167419;167420
Session
2003-04
EC documents
Dir2001/18/EC;Reg(EC)1829/2003;Reg(EC)1830/2003
Subjects
Crops EU law Genetically modified organisms EU enlargement Food Labelling Testing
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk