Brussels, 18 March 2003
The Council adopted a common position on a proposal for a Regulation concerning the traceability and labelling of GMOs and of food and feed products produced from GMOs (doc. 15798/02 + doc. 6903/03 ADD1). The Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Danish delegations were unable to support the common position. In accordance with the co-decision procedure, the common position will be forwarded to the European Parliament for a second reading.
The proposed Regulation is aimed at amending certain aspects of Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs. It aims to establish a framework for the traceability of products consisting of or containing GMOs, and food and feed derived from GMOs, with the objective of facilitating accurate labelling, monitoring of the effects on the environment and, where appropriate, on human health. Moreover, it aimed at facilitating the implementation of appropriate risk management measures including, if necessary, withdrawal of products from the market (for further details see our press release, doc. 15101/02 ).