BioWorld International Correspondent

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union members battled one another again on biotechnology at the Sept. 29 meeting of the EU's agriculture ministers, as they split over how to regulate planting GM crops. The EU Agriculture Council has to decide what rules to adopt for the coexistence of GM and conventional crops, but it has failed to do so.

A "middle way" was proposed by EU officials in July that would leave most management decisions to the local level. That has been broadly accepted at preparatory meetings of national officials over the last few weeks by most EU governments. Spain, for instance, said at the Council meeting that "there are already too many rules in this sector," and the Finnish minister urged a "pragmatic approach" for fear of leaving the EU "trailing behind the U.S." Ireland wanted to ensure that trade was not affected by any new rules.

But some member states - particularly Luxembourg and Austria - are anxious about the risk of cross-contamination. Their ministers insisted at the Council meeting that the EU itself should provide for mandatory GM-free zones. Italy, too, has made clear it favors that approach, but since it currently holds the rotating chair of the EU Council, it was obliged by protocol to seek compromise rather than push its case in the session. The plan also has been condemned by the environmentalist group, Friends of the Earth, who say the proposals would not only put the environment at risk but also would eventually lead to contamination, forcing consumers to eat GM foods.

During the meeting, Franz Fischler, European commissioner for agriculture, reassured ministers that EU rules already cover safety and environmental-risk assessment of all GMOs. He said, "We should not close the door to the development and use of biotechnology in European agriculture." And, sensitive to accusations from the biotech industry and from the U.S. government that the EU is in effect sabotaging biotechnology, he warned reluctant member states that "the coexistence debate should not be misused for causes that will further delay the authorization of new GMOs."

Ministers reached no decision at their Sept. 29 meeting. The subject will be re-examined by officials, and ministers will return to it at the next session of the Agriculture Council, in mid-October.