Commission seeks committee changes

MAjority rule?

On Tuesday (13 July), the European Commission set out a changed approach to the authorisation of genetically modified (GM) crops. Applications for authorising GMs have thrown a spotlight on weaknesses in the EU's secondary decision-making procedures, where the member states cannot agree on what path to take.
Applications for approval for new GM varieties are submitted to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health , one of the EU's many regulatory committees. The EU has approved only two GM varieties for cultivation – a GM maize variety in 1998 and, earlier this year, a potato for industrial use. It has approved 29 GM varieties for import for use in food and animal feed.
The committee itself has not directly approved any of these GM varieties because the committee, which is made up of representatives from the member states, has never produced a majority in favour of approving authorisation. Instead, applications for approval have been referred to the Council of Ministers, which, again, has been unable to reach a majority either for or against the proposal.
Under the current rules for regulatory committees, the Commission is obliged to adopt its own proposal if a majority of member states do not reject it.
The changes to the rules for committees that the Commission proposed in March would give it greater flexibility as to how to respond in the event of deadlock.