BETA


2019/2857(RSP) Resolution on the draft Commission implementing decision renewing the authorisation for the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (MON-89788-1) 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), METZ Tilly (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), HAZEKAMP Anja (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), EVI Eleonora (icon: NA NA)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 112-p2

Events

2020/02/11
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2019/11/14
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2019/11/14
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2019/11/14
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 448 votes to 185, with 30 abstentions, a resolution objecting to the draft Commission implementing decision renewing the authorisation for the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (MON-89788-1) pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Commission Decision 2008/933/EC authorised the placing on the market of food and feed containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (‘soybean MON 89788’).

On 20 November 2017, the authorisation holder, Monsanto Europe S.A./N.V., on behalf of Monsanto Company, submitted to the Commission an application for the renewal of that authorisation.

Member State comments

Many Member States expressed concern over the quality of the post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) plan, stating, inter alia, that it does not fully meet the objectives set out in Annex VII to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Member States also commented generally that the monitoring of soybean MON 89788 is inadequate, that it does not provide any sound data to support the conclusion that there has been no adverse health or environmental effects with the import and use of soybean MON 89788 and that it does not provide lessons pertinent to the safety of its use for animal or human consumption.

Moreover, GM soybean, when it is cultivated in countries such as Brazil and Argentina, is a key driver of large-scale deforestation.

Lack of assessment of glyphosate residues and metabolites

Recalling that soybean MON 89788 has been made tolerant to glyphosate-based herbicides, Members noted that a number of studies show that herbicide-tolerant GM crops result in a higher use of those herbicides, in large part because of the emergence of herbicide-tolerant weeds. As a consequence, it has to be expected that crops of soybean MON 89788 will be exposed to both higher and repeated doses of glyphosate which will potentially lead to a higher quantity of residues in the harvest. In addition, questions remain about the carcinogenicity of glyphosate.

Members also raised the issue of the lack of maximum residue limits (MRLs) and related controls.

Undemocratic decision-making

Members stressed that the Commission recognised the fact that GMO authorisation decisions continue to be adopted by the Commission without a qualified majority of Member States in favour, which is very much the exception for product authorisations as a whole but has become the norm for decision-making on GM food and feed authorisations, is problematic. That practice has, on several occasions, been deplored by the Commission President as not being democratic.

On the basis of these comments, Parliament called on the Commission:

- to withdraw its draft implementing decision;

- in the meantime, to stop authorising GMOs when no opinion is delivered by Member States in the Appeal Committee, whether for cultivation or for food and feed uses, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011;

- not to authorise herbicide-tolerant GM crops until the health risks associated with the residues have been comprehensively investigated on a case-by-case basis, which requires a full assessment of the residues from spraying the GM crops with complementary herbicides, their metabolites and any combinatorial effects;

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

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

Parliament reiterated its commitment to advancing work on the Commission proposal amending Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

Compliance with international obligations

Parliament reiterated its concern that the Union’s high dependence on imports of animal feed in the form of soybeans causes deforestation in third countries. It called on the Commission not to authorise the import of GM soybeans unless it can be clearly demonstrated that their cultivation did not contribute, directly or indirectly, to deforestation.

In this context, the Commission is urged to treat the Union’s obligations under international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and to give them the weight they deserve, as well as communicating on how they have been taken into account in the decision-making process.

Documents
2019/11/14
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2019/10/10
   EP - PIETIKÄINEN Sirpa (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/10/10
   EP - SIDL Günther (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/10/10
   EP - METZ Tilly (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/10/10
   EP - HAZEKAMP Anja (GUE/NGL) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2019/10/10
   EP - EVI Eleonora (NA) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI

Documents

Activities

Votes

B9-0169/2019 - Résolution #

2019/11/14 Outcome: +: 448, -: 185, 0: 30
IT FR PL EL HU AT BG GB HR BE SK PT CY SI LV ES DE LU FI EE IE MT DK LT RO CZ SE NL
Total
68
64
47
20
20
17
15
48
11
20
11
18
6
6
7
48
87
6
13
5
10
6
13
11
25
18
20
23
icon: S&D S&D
135

Greece S&D

2

Slovakia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Netherlands S&D

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
68

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Spain Verts/ALE

2

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

2

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3
icon: ID ID
68
3

Belgium ID

2

Finland ID

2

Estonia ID

For (1)

1

Denmark ID

Against (1)

1

Czechia ID

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
38

Belgium GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
35

Hungary NI

1

Slovakia NI

2

Germany NI

1
icon: ECR ECR
59

Greece ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

United Kingdom ECR

3

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Slovakia ECR

2

Latvia ECR

2

Germany ECR

Against (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

1
3

Netherlands ECR

4
icon: Renew Renew
94

Hungary Renew

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Austria Renew

Against (1)

1

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Belgium Renew

4

Slovakia Renew

2

Slovenia Renew

For (1)

1

Latvia Renew

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg Renew

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Finland Renew

3

Estonia Renew

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Ireland Renew

Against (1)

1

Lithuania Renew

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Sweden Renew

3
icon: PPE PPE
166

Belgium PPE

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

4

Slovakia PPE

3
2

Latvia PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Finland PPE

3

Ireland PPE

3

Malta PPE

2

Denmark PPE

Against (1)

1

Czechia PPE

Against (1)

3

History

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

committees/0/rapporteur/3/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-9-2019-0169_EN.html
New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2019-0169_EN.html
docs/1
date
2020-02-11T00:00:00
docs
url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=41638&j=0&l=en title: SP(2020)7
type
Commission response to text adopted in plenary
body
EC
events/0
date
2019-11-14T00:00:00
type
Results of vote in Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=41638&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
events/0
date
2019-11-14T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0055_EN.html title: T9-0055/2019
summary
events/1
date
2019-11-14T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0055_EN.html title: T9-0055/2019
summary
docs
  • date: 2019-11-14T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2019-0169_EN.html title: B9-0169/2019 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
events
  • date: 2019-11-14T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0055_EN.html title: T9-0055/2019 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 448 votes to 185, with 30 abstentions, a resolution objecting to the draft Commission implementing decision renewing the authorisation for the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (MON-89788-1) pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Commission Decision 2008/933/EC authorised the placing on the market of food and feed containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (‘soybean MON 89788’). On 20 November 2017, the authorisation holder, Monsanto Europe S.A./N.V., on behalf of Monsanto Company, submitted to the Commission an application for the renewal of that authorisation. Member State comments Many Member States expressed concern over the quality of the post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) plan, stating, inter alia, that it does not fully meet the objectives set out in Annex VII to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. Member States also commented generally that the monitoring of soybean MON 89788 is inadequate, that it does not provide any sound data to support the conclusion that there has been no adverse health or environmental effects with the import and use of soybean MON 89788 and that it does not provide lessons pertinent to the safety of its use for animal or human consumption. Moreover, GM soybean, when it is cultivated in countries such as Brazil and Argentina, is a key driver of large-scale deforestation. Lack of assessment of glyphosate residues and metabolites Recalling that soybean MON 89788 has been made tolerant to glyphosate-based herbicides, Members noted that a number of studies show that herbicide-tolerant GM crops result in a higher use of those herbicides, in large part because of the emergence of herbicide-tolerant weeds. As a consequence, it has to be expected that crops of soybean MON 89788 will be exposed to both higher and repeated doses of glyphosate which will potentially lead to a higher quantity of residues in the harvest. In addition, questions remain about the carcinogenicity of glyphosate. Members also raised the issue of the lack of maximum residue limits (MRLs) and related controls. Undemocratic decision-making Members stressed that the Commission recognised the fact that GMO authorisation decisions continue to be adopted by the Commission without a qualified majority of Member States in favour, which is very much the exception for product authorisations as a whole but has become the norm for decision-making on GM food and feed authorisations, is problematic. That practice has, on several occasions, been deplored by the Commission President as not being democratic. On the basis of these comments, Parliament called on the Commission: - to withdraw its draft implementing decision; - in the meantime, to stop authorising GMOs when no opinion is delivered by Member States in the Appeal Committee, whether for cultivation or for food and feed uses, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011; - not to authorise herbicide-tolerant GM crops until the health risks associated with the residues have been comprehensively investigated on a case-by-case basis, which requires a full assessment of the residues from spraying the GM crops with complementary herbicides, their metabolites and any combinatorial effects; - to fully integrate the risk assessment of the application of complementary herbicides and their residues into the risk assessment of herbicide-tolerant GM plants, regardless of whether the GM plant concerned is to be cultivated in the Union or is for import into the Union for food and feed uses; - not to authorise the import for food or feed uses of any GM plant which has been made tolerant to a herbicide-active substance that is not authorised for use in the Union. Parliament reiterated its commitment to advancing work on the Commission proposal amending Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. Compliance with international obligations Parliament reiterated its concern that the Union’s high dependence on imports of animal feed in the form of soybeans causes deforestation in third countries. It called on the Commission not to authorise the import of GM soybeans unless it can be clearly demonstrated that their cultivation did not contribute, directly or indirectly, to deforestation. In this context, the Commission is urged to treat the Union’s obligations under international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and to give them the weight they deserve, as well as communicating on how they have been taken into account in the decision-making process.
  • date: 2019-11-14T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
forecasts
  • date: 2019-11-14T00:00:00 title: Vote in plenary scheduled
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
New
Procedure completed
procedure/title
Old
Objection pursuant to Rule 112: renewing the authorisation for the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (MON-89788-1)
New
Resolution on the draft Commission implementing decision renewing the authorisation for the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 89788 (MON-89788-1) pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council