Vilnius, Lithuania
April 18, 2007
USDA/FAS GAIN report
LH7003
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200704/146280798.pdf
Report
highlights
The Lithuanian government
recently rejected Monsanto's
petition for field trials of a bioengineered corn product
just two days after it disapproved field trials of a
BASF transgenic rapeseed
variety. Lithuanian officials did not follow their own
regulatory procedures in making these decisions, relying
instead on public opinion.
On April 6, 2007 the Lithuanian
government disapproved field trials of a Monsanto biotech corn
variety just two days after disapproving field trials of a BASF
transgenic rapeseed variety.
Regarding the decision on
rapeseed, the National Biotechnology Advisory and Steering
committees recommended approval of the trials. Initially, the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment also were in
favor of approving the petition, but the Ministry of Agriculture
weighed in against the request. In the end, however, the
Ministry of Environment, which has the final say on these
decisions in Lithuania, rejected the request apparently because
of lobbying by environmental political parties and a recent
survey of Lithuanians that stated that 60 percent disapprove of
biotech planting in Lithuania.
In the case of the Monsanto
decision, the Ministry of the Environment issued its negative
decision without soliciting input from the National
Biotechnology Advisory or Scientific committees. In addition,
this same week, a parliamentary committee on the environment
also voiced its opposition to biotech plantings in Lithuania.
A report on the Lithuanian
regulatory structure for biotechnology and more details about
the BASF rapeseed decision can be found in GAIN report LH7002,
“Biotechnology in Lithuania” from April 2007. The report can be
found on the internet at
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200704/146280747.pdf.
Comment:
Post is concerned that the
government’s decision to ban field trials of these transgenic
crops lacked a basis in sound science. In fact, for rapeseed,
the negative decision ran counter to the opinion of scientific
experts. Post will continue to monitor this situation and work
with FAS/Brussels to ensure Lithuania remains in compliance with
its EU and, ultimately, wider trade obligations concerning
transgenic crops. |
