BETA


2019/2830(RSP) Resolution on the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize MZHG0JG (SYN-ØØØJG-2), pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead ENVI PIETIKÄINEN Sirpa (icon: EPP EPP), SIDL Günther (icon: S&D S&D), ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ Nicolae (icon: Renew Renew), METZ Tilly (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), HAZEKAMP Anja (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), EVI Eleonora (icon: NA NA) HUITEMA Jan (icon: Renew Renew)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 112-p2

Events

2020/02/03
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2019/10/10
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/10/10
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2019/10/10
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 436 votes to 208, with 16 abstentions, a resolution objecting on the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize MZHG0JG (SYN-ØØØJG2), pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The application for marketing authorisation was presented to the German national competent authorities on 1 September 2016, by Syngenta Crop Protection NV/SA on behalf of Syngenta Crop Protection AG.

Comments from Member States

Member States made many critical comments during the three-month consultation period following the publication of the favourable opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) adopted on 17 October 2018. The most critical comments relate to toxicological assessment, comparative analysis and environmental risk assessment. In addition, an independent study concludes that EFSA's risk assessment is not acceptable in its current form, as it does not properly assess toxicity, in particular with regard to the possible cumulative effects of the two transgenes, on the one hand, and complementary herbicides and their metabolites, on the other hand.

Complementary herbicides

MZHGG0JG maize has been made tolerant to glyphosate-based herbicides, as well as glufosinate-ammonium-based herbicides. Members noted that it has been shown that the cultivation of herbicide-tolerant GM crops results in a higher use of herbicides, due in large part to the emergence of herbicide-tolerant weeds. As a consequence, it has to be expected that maize MZHG0JG crops will be exposed to both higher and repeated doses of glyphosate and glufosinate, which will potentially lead to a higher quantity of residues in harvests. The approval of glufosinate for use in the Union expired on 31 July 2018. Questions concerning the carcinogenicity of glyphosate remain.

Undemocratic process

Members pointed out the Commission deplored the fact that, since the entry into force of the current GMO authorisation procedure, authorisation decisions have been adopted by the Commission without the support of the opinion of the Member States’ committee and that the return of the dossier to the Commission for final decision, which is very much the exception for the procedure as a whole, has become the norm for decision-making on GM food and feed authorisations.

On the basis of these considerations, the Commission considered that the draft Commission implementing decision is not consistent with Union law which is to provide the basis for ensuring a high level of protection of human life and health, animal health and welfare, and environmental and consumer interests, in relation to GM food and feed, while ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market.

Parliament called on the Commission to:

- withdraw its draft implementing decision;

- suspend any implementing decision regarding applications for GMO authorisation until the authorisation procedure has been revised in such a way as to address the shortcomings of the current procedure, which has proven inadequate;

- withdraw proposals for GMO authorisations if no opinion is delivered by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, whether for cultivation or for food and feed uses;

- not authorise any herbicide-tolerant GM plants without a full assessment of the residues from spraying with complementary herbicides, their metabolites and commercial formulations, as applied in the countries of cultivation;

- fully integrate the risk assessment of the application of complementary herbicides and their residues into the risk assessment of herbicidetolerant GM plants, regardless of whether the GM plant concerned is to be cultivated in the Union or imported into the Union for food and feed uses;

- not authorise the import for food or feed uses of any GM plant which has been made tolerant to a herbicide that is not authorised for use in the Union, in this case glufosinate.

The Parliament reiterated its commitment to advancing work on the Commission proposal amending Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 (comitology). It called on the Council to move forward with its work on that Commission proposal as a matter of urgency.

Documents
2019/10/10
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2019/09/16
   EP - PIETIKÄINEN Sirpa (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/09/16
   EP - SIDL Günther (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/09/16
   EP - ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ Nicolae (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/09/16
   EP - METZ Tilly (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/09/16
   EP - HAZEKAMP Anja (GUE/NGL) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/09/16
   EP - EVI Eleonora (NA) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI

Documents

Activities

Votes

B9-0107/2019 - Proposition de résolution #

2019/10/10 Outcome: +: 436, -: 208, 0: 16
FR IT EL AT PL BG HU BE PT ES LV CY SI MT DE SK HR RO EE LU IE DK NL FI SE LT CZ GB
Total
66
65
19
17
40
14
15
19
21
44
8
6
7
6
85
12
10
26
3
5
10
12
25
13
19
9
19
65
icon: S&D S&D
139

Greece S&D

2

Hungary S&D

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Latvia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Slovakia S&D

Abstain (1)

3

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Lithuania S&D

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
68

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Spain Verts/ALE

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Ireland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Finland Verts/ALE

2

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Czechia Verts/ALE

3
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
39

Belgium GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1
icon: ID ID
63

Austria ID

2

Belgium ID

2

Denmark ID

Against (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Czechia ID

2
icon: ECR ECR
49

Italy ECR

For (1)

3

Greece ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Belgium ECR

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Spain ECR

2

Latvia ECR

2

Slovakia ECR

2

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

4
3

Lithuania ECR

Against (1)

1
icon: NI NI
48

Hungary NI

1

Germany NI

1

Slovakia NI

2

Croatia NI

1
icon: Renew Renew
97

Austria Renew

Abstain (1)

1

Hungary Renew

2

Belgium Renew

4

Latvia Renew

Against (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Slovakia Renew

2

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Estonia Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Ireland Renew

Against (1)

1

Finland Renew

3

Sweden Renew

3

Lithuania Renew

2
icon: PPE PPE
157

Bulgaria PPE

Against (1)

5

Belgium PPE

4

Latvia PPE

2
2

Malta PPE

2

Slovakia PPE

Against (1)

3

Croatia PPE

For (1)

4

Luxembourg PPE

2

Denmark PPE

Against (1)

1

Finland PPE

3

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

committees/0/rapporteur/4/group
Old
Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left
New
The Left group in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL
docs/0/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2019-0107_EN.html
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2020-02-03T00:00:00
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Commission response to text adopted in plenary
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Decision by Parliament
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Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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docs
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docs
  • date: 2019-10-10T00:00:00 docs: title: B9-0107/2019 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
  • date: 2019-10-10T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P9-TA-2019-0028 title: T9-0028/2019 type: Text adopted by Parliament, single reading body: EP
events
  • date: 2019-10-10T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P9-TA-2019-0028 title: T9-0028/2019
  • date: 2019-10-10T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
New
Procedure completed
forecasts
  • date: 2019-10-10T00:00:00 title: Vote scheduled
forecasts/0/title
Old
Vote in plenary scheduled
New
Vote scheduled
forecasts/0/title
Old
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
New
Vote in plenary scheduled
procedure/title
Old
Objection pursuant to Rule 112 : the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize MZHG0JG (SYN-ØØØJG-2), pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (D061869-04)
New
Resolution on the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize MZHG0JG (SYN-ØØØJG-2), pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council