A VOTE on the controversial bill to separate genetically modified foods on supermarket shelves will likely be put off until after the summer break, to the dismay of its creator, Greens deputy George Perdikis.
The bill this week sparked an unusually blunt letter of concern from the US Embassy to the Speaker of the House, Demetris Christofias,
The House Environment Committee convened yesterday to discuss Perdikis’ proposal to pass a law obliging supermarkets to display GM foods on separate shelves that were clearly marked as GM shelves.
After hearing the opinion of the Legal Service, the entire Committee, save Perdikis, agreed to seek a written opinion from the Attorney-general’s office on compatibility with EU law before tabling the bill in Parliament.
For the bill to be passed by next Thursday, the last parliamentary session before the summer recess, the Attorney-general’s office would have to prepare the opinion by Monday, a highly unlikely result given the timeframe. This pushes a vote on the bill to October.
Perdikis was not pleased, blaming the potential delay on the intervention of the US Embassy. He argued that before the US circulated a note to parliament, all parties were ready to vote through the bill on GM products.
An unsigned letter from the US embassy in Nicosia to Christofias was leaked to the press earlier this week. In the letter, the US strongly urged Christofias to prevent the bill reaching the plenum, warning that its approval would hurt Cyprus-US relations.
The US is the biggest producer of GM foods, and the embassy letter said plans to separate products were tantamount to “stigmatising” the products that “have been found safe by the European Commission experts”.
Under EU legislation, each member state is free to display GM foods as it sees fit but the bloc has tough labelling standards on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Food containing more than 0.9 per cent of authorised GMOs must be labelled as such.
“The Legal Service official made an informal suggestion to have separate shelves for GM products but without a separate label on those shelves. They were very confusing proposals and the Committee asked for written proposals. We had three meetings about this before and all the parties had agreed, now after the US Embassy intervention, they’re not sure any more,” said Perdikis.
Acting Committee Chairman Georgios Hadjigeorgiou clarified after the meeting that the committee in its entirety found the US intervention unacceptable.
DISY deputy Maria Kyriacou said all the parties agreed in principle to the bill, but the problem was its poor drafting.
“We want to make sure that it’s compatible with EU law. All parties agree with the bill but because it wasn’t drafted by a lawyer, things have been left out, and it needs reworking,” she said.
The problem is that the EU already has a regulation, directly transposed into national law last year, governing the definition of GM foods. Perdikis’ bill contains its own definition, which would come into conflict with EU law if passed.
“There is no politics behind this delay. All parties agree with the intention but in reality, it has to be drafted properly. We can’t deal with things already provided in the regulation.
“Also, there are other problems in that the labelling of special shelves doesn’t cover frozen foods, and there are many GM frozen foods, so the law is incomplete. It’s a lack of experience in drafting, that’s all,” added Kyriacou.
The deputy noted, in theory, the EU does not say it is wrong to regulate on how to display products.
“Under EU law, GM foods have to be labelled, and the consumer has to know what he is eating.”
Asked if she was aware of which products had GM labelling when shopping, Kyriacou replied: “I don’t know any GM food actually, I have never noticed them to be honest, which is why no party opposes the proposal.”
Meanwhile, an EU official told the Cyprus Mail that the European Commission was investigating the draft bill and would likely reach a verdict next week.
“The preliminary view is that you have to look at the bill’s consistency with EU Food Law, EU internal market rules and the World Trade Organisation,” said the official.
On Community Food Law, the main regulation stipulates that the labelling, advertising and presentation of food should not mislead consumers.
“The preliminary view is that we don’t see how different shelves mislead consumers in any way. In many supermarkets in the EU, including in Brussels, supermarkets already have separate shelving, though this is a voluntary action.”
On the Internal Market and WTO, the issue is whether there is discrimination between domestic and imported products. “There doesn’t seem to be such a distinction in the bill,” added the official.
Regarding the note sent by the US Embassy, the DISY deputy said: “It’s not uncommon to pass notes. When Cyprus had a big problem with piracy, the US and EU countries passed notes saying something had to be done. We didn’t like it but it is something that is done.”
Cyprus does not grow GM crops due to its size, the concern being that seeds could be dispersed and affect non-GM fields.
Meanwhile, the Greens are holding an anti-globalisation demonstration outside the US embassy next Wednesday at 7.30pm. The party says the US is mainly responsible for the environmental crisis facing the world today.
