BRUSSELS, Belgium - In the last weeks of her term of office, outgoing European Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard demanded clarification from France over its standing on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

On July 15 she sent a heavily sarcastic letter to Paris questioning what she sees as inconsistencies in the official French policy toward GMO authorizations.

At the end of June, France made a formal call for a suspension of GMO approvals across the 15 member states of the European Union. But, as Bjerregaard pointed out in her letter, France is currently the sponsor of a number of applications for GMO authorizations.

The commissioner asked France to "indicate the approach your government intends to adopt to these pending notifications, and to any new applications which may be received, and what repercussions you consider will follow. In particular, I would be interested to know whether and when you intend to consult the notifiers with a view to withdrawing the notification."

This latest in a long series of confrontations between the commission and EU member states over GMOs arose when France led the calls for a moratorium on GMO registrations at the last meeting of EU environment ministers, in Luxembourg on June 24 - 25. That stormy meeting resulted in a legal stalemate: the EU has no power to impose a ban on GMO research and registration, but several member states did register formal declarations in the Environment Council minutes expressing opposition to continued registrations in response to growing consumer concerns over safety.

Bjerregaard's spokesman, Peter Jorgensen, said the commissioner "wants to get a clear picture of their intentions with regard to the GMO dossiers those same member states have submitted for approval."

Existing Policy Cannot Be Lightly Discarded

With elaborate courtesy, the commission said it "agrees fully with the member states about the need to put in place a more transparent framework and to restore public and market confidence in genetically modified organisms." But, it goes on, existing EU rules cannot be dropped at the whim of the member states. A 1990 directive regulating GMO approvals was ratified by all member states. More than a dozen applications have been made and are still pending under that directive. As a result, "the general suspension of new - or existing - authorizations does not appear to be a practical way forward. The commission has a clear legal obligation to pursue the procedures set out in the directive."

Other member state governments backed the French declaration, and Bjerregaard also has written to them, seeking the same type of clarification. She wants those countries to specify changes they want made to EU rules, in particular the 1997 decision on GMO labeling, which was criticized in the declaration.

The declaration, supported by member states Denmark, Greece, France, Italy and Luxembourg, pointed to the importance of the commission submitting without delay full draft rules ensuring labeling and traceability of GMOs and GMO-derived products. It said that pending the adoption of such rules, in accordance with preventive and precautionary principles, they will take steps to have any new authorizations for growing and placing on the market suspended.

A similar declaration was made by the Austrian, Belgian, Finnish, German, Netherlands, Spanish and Swedish governments, who said they would "take a thoroughly precautionary approach in dealing with notifications and authorizations for the placing on the market of GMOs, [and] not authorize the placing on the market of any GMOs until it is demonstrated that there is no adverse effect on the environment and human health."