Environmental associations: lawsuit against Amflora in the European Court of
Justice
(11 May 2010) Several environmental associations state
the intention to take legal action in the European Court of Justice against the
cultivation approval for the genetically modified (GM) ‘Amflora’ potato. A
decision is not expected before the end of 2011. However, it remains unclear
whether the lawsuit will be acknowledged.
More than forty associations and firms are driving for
the reversal of the cultivation approval issued at the beginning of March for
the GM starch potato known as ‘Amflora’. As a first step, the group has
submitted an appeal against the approval pronounced by the EU Commission.
Dismissal of this appeal is expected, upon which the group would address the
European Court of Justice (ECJ). If this court acknowledges the suit, the actual
legal proceedings may begin.
The lawsuit brought by the associations is grounded
primarily on the  antibiotic resistance marker gene used in the ‘Amflora’ potato.
The group claims that the transfer of this gene to bacteria cannot be ruled out.
Therefore, the danger exists that important antibiotics may lose effectiveness
against bacterial pathogens, states Hubert Weiger, chairperson of the German
Association for Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation (Bund für
Umwelt und Naturschutz, BUND).
According to Christoph Palme, legal advisor to the
associations, the approval of ‘Amflora’ therefore violates the valid European
legal guidelines on green gene technology. Since 2005, the Deliberate Release
Directive (2001/18) conditionally prohibits the approval of genetically modified
plants that contain antibiotic-resistance markers.
The directive does not declare all marker genes used in
GM plants to be unacceptable, referring only to those "that may have damaging
effects on human health or the environment" (article 4). The European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) and other scientific institutions repeatedly have
addressed the question of whether this restriction applies to the nptII marker
gene used in the ‘Amflora’ potato and which provides resistance to the
antibiotic known as kanamycin.
In its final step towards approval, the EU Commission had
requested a "consolidated, scientific assessment" from the expert Panel for Gene
Technology (GMO) and Panel for Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) at EFSA. The
resulting survey was published in summer 2009. It concluded that "negative
effects on human health and the environment" resulting from the use of marker
genes in genetically modified plants "are unlikely, according to current
scientific knowledge". The survey also states that the transfer of a marker gene
from GM plants to bacteria remains unsubstantiated to date, both under natural
conditions and in the laboratory. Only in the case of actual occurrence of such
"horizontal gene transfer" would it be possible that the antibiotic resistance
of GM plants be passed on to pathogens.
See also on GMO-Compass:
Further information:
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