Implementing an EU opt‐in mechanism for GM crop cultivation

EMBO Reports (2019) e48036 The cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the EU remains a highly polemic issue. The only GM crop event that is currently authorised is the insect‐resistant maize “MON810”. The GM potato variety “Amflora” with improved tuber starch composition was approved for cultivation in 2010, but later withdrawn. One of the main reasons that not more GM crops are authorised for cultivation is a regulatory gridlock with a recurring inability to reach a qualified majority in the designated committee for either approval or rejection [1]. Several EU member states experience domestic pressure against adoption of GM crops [2], [3], [4]. The European Commission (EC) therefore developed legislation—the Directive EU 2015/412, adopted by the European Parliament (EP) in 2015—to give member states the possibility to restrict or prohibit cultivation of authorised GM crops in their territory (opt‐out mechanism). The request to exclude a particular GM event from cultivation may be communicated to the EC after risk assessment, or after authorisation provided that the restriction is in conformity with the EU law, reasoned, proportional, non‐discriminatory and based on compelling grounds (Article 26b(3) of Directive 2015/412). To date, 17 member states and two autonomous regions have used this possibility. In parallel, the EC also proposed an analogous mechanism for the import of GM food and …