Legal provisions of COM(2015)177 - Amendment of Regulation on the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the use of genetically modified food and feed on their territory

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dossier COM(2015)177 - Amendment of Regulation on the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the use of genetically modified ...
document COM(2015)177 EN
date April 22, 2015

Contents

Article 1

In Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 the following Article is inserted:

“Article 34a
Restrictions or prohibitions by Member States

1. Member States may adopt measures restricting or prohibiting the use of products referred to in Article 3(1) and 15(1) authorised pursuant to this Regulation provided that such measures are:

(a)reasoned and based on compelling grounds in accordance with Union law which shall, in no case, conflict with the risk assessment carried out pursuant this Regulation;

(b)proportional and non-discriminatory.

2. Where a Member State intends to adopt measures as provided for in paragraph 1, it shall first submit to the Commission a draft of those measures, and the corresponding justification. The Commission shall immediately notify to the other Member States the draft measures and the corresponding justification. The Member State may submit the draft measures and such information before the authorisation procedure provided for in Articles 7 and 19 has been completed.

During a period of 3 months from the date of submission to the Commission of the draft measures and information in accordance with the first subparagraph:

(a)the Member State shall refrain from adopting and implementing those measures;

(b)the Commission and the Member States may make any comments they consider appropriate to the Member State which has submitted the draft measures.

3. Measures adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall provide for a reasonable period of time during which existing stocks of the products referred to in Article 3(1) and 15(1) concerned by such measures, which could legally be used before the date of adoption of the measures, may be used up.

4. Measures adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall not affect the use, in the Member State concerned, of food and feed containing an adventitious or technically unavoidable presence of genetically modified material which, by application of the thresholds set out in Articles 12 and 24, are not required to be labelled in accordance with this Regulation.

5. Paragraph 1 to 4 of this Article shall not apply to GMOs for cultivation.”

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.