Why the European Union needs a national GMO opt-in mechanism

On March 27, 2017, the European Union (EU; Brussels) Appeal Committee on Genetically Modified Food and Feed and Environmental Risk voted on draft regulations for approving the placement of three genetically modified (GM) maize events on the market for cultivation in the EU1. The Appeal Committee once again did not reach a qualified majority for either approval or rejection. The March vote result was similar to the preceding vote in the Regulatory Committee 2001/18/EC on January 27, 2017 (ref. 2). This case was the first of its kind since the amendment of the EU legislation on GM crop cultivation (Directive 2015/412, the so-called 'opt-out Directive')3 came into force in 2015. The opt-out Directive allows EU member states to restrict or prohibit cultivation of GM crops in their territory based on “compelling grounds such as those related to: (a) environmental policy objectives; (b) town and country planning; (c) land use; (d) socioeconomic impacts; (e) avoidance of GMO presence in other products [e.g. crops that would be subject to cross-border 'contamination']; (f) agricultural policy objectives; and (g) public policy”3. This possibility was introduced to acknowledge that decisions on the cultivation of GM crops raise complicated issues other than safety, which are best dealt with at a national level and also to improve the process for authorizing GM crops in the EU.