EU GM Crop Regulation: A Road to Resolution or a Regulatory Roundabout?
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
Since first embarking on the road of risk management options for the regulation of recombinant DNA (rDNA) activities and use in 1978, the European Union (EU) has largely failed to create a regulatory and policy environment regarding genetically modified (GM) crops and their cultivation that is (a) efficient, (b) predicable, (c) accountable, (d) durable or (e) interjurisdictionally aligned.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
Since first embarking on the road of risk management options for the regulation of recombinant DNA (rDNA) activities and use in 1978, the European Union (EU) has largely failed to create a regulatory and policy environment regarding genetically modified (GM) crops and their cultivation that is (a) efficient, (b) predicable, (c) accountable, (d) durable or (e) interjurisdictionally aligned.
The New Strategy on Coexistence in the 2010 European Commission Recommendation
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The European Union tried to establish a “coexistence” policy for the cultivation and processing of GM and non-GM products after the political agreement that put an end to the 1999-2004 moratorium. Consequently, coexistence is part of this gentlemen’s agreement between States with pro and anti-GMO positions.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The European Union tried to establish a “coexistence” policy for the cultivation and processing of GM and non-GM products after the political agreement that put an end to the 1999-2004 moratorium. Consequently, coexistence is part of this gentlemen’s agreement between States with pro and anti-GMO positions.
What Price Flexibility? – The Recent Commission Proposal to Allow for National “Opt-Outs” on GMO Cultivation under the Deliberate Release Directive and the Comitology Reform Post-Lisbon
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
“After a reform is before another reform.” This paraphrasing of a famous saying from the world of football seems to be a very fitting way to describe the status quo of the European policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The functioning of the EU legal framework on GMOs has since its initial establishment in the 1990s been troubled by political disagreement, deadlocks in decision-making, strong public opposition in the Member States, and considerable delays in the process of authorisation of genetically engineered products on the internal market of the EU.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
“After a reform is before another reform.” This paraphrasing of a famous saying from the world of football seems to be a very fitting way to describe the status quo of the European policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The functioning of the EU legal framework on GMOs has since its initial establishment in the 1990s been troubled by political disagreement, deadlocks in decision-making, strong public opposition in the Member States, and considerable delays in the process of authorisation of genetically engineered products on the internal market of the EU.
The Commission’s New Approach to the Cultivation of Genetically Modified Organisms
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The Commission has proposed to legitimise the renationalization of the cultivation of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) accepting the request of a group of Member States who raised concerns at the Environment Council of June 2009 regarding the EU-wide decisions on GMO cultivation. Based on subsidiarity grounds, they requested the Commission give the freedom to decide on the cultivation of GM plants to both national and local authorities.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2010)
The Commission has proposed to legitimise the renationalization of the cultivation of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) accepting the request of a group of Member States who raised concerns at the Environment Council of June 2009 regarding the EU-wide decisions on GMO cultivation. Based on subsidiarity grounds, they requested the Commission give the freedom to decide on the cultivation of GM plants to both national and local authorities.
‘Have we all gone bats?’ – The Strict Protection of Wildlife under the Habitats Directive and Tourism Development: Some Lessons from Ireland
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (11/2010)
The legal protection of species of wildlife under EU law is or should have an increasing impact on tourism developments. It should typically force project modification, relocation or even in some cases project abandonment. Tourism developers are learning about these impacts rather slowly for a variety of reasons. The aim of this article is to provide legal guidance on the likely impact of the protection of species on tourism developments by examining the Irish legal experience of the protection of bats.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (11/2010)
The legal protection of species of wildlife under EU law is or should have an increasing impact on tourism developments. It should typically force project modification, relocation or even in some cases project abandonment. Tourism developers are learning about these impacts rather slowly for a variety of reasons. The aim of this article is to provide legal guidance on the likely impact of the protection of species on tourism developments by examining the Irish legal experience of the protection of bats.
Response of spider communities to a large scale bark beetle infestation
© Eigenbeiträge der Autoren (9/2010)
The Aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that the average niche position of spider communities is changing due to openings in the forest through a large scaled bark beetle infestation. The average niche position was divided into the mean shading position and the mean moisture position on a plot, which were predicted to move towards brightness and towards humidity.
© Eigenbeiträge der Autoren (9/2010)
The Aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that the average niche position of spider communities is changing due to openings in the forest through a large scaled bark beetle infestation. The average niche position was divided into the mean shading position and the mean moisture position on a plot, which were predicted to move towards brightness and towards humidity.
Sustainable Development and International (Environmental) Law – Integration vs. Fragmentation
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (8/2010)
Twenty five years ago, the concept of sustainable development was one of the fundamental outcomes of a long and intense discussion about how to continue to live on this planet without destroying it at the same time. Sustainable development is meant to be a “common and mutually supportive objective which takes account of the interrelationships between people, resources, environment, and development.” Its aim is to achieve international and intergenerational justice, and “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (8/2010)
Twenty five years ago, the concept of sustainable development was one of the fundamental outcomes of a long and intense discussion about how to continue to live on this planet without destroying it at the same time. Sustainable development is meant to be a “common and mutually supportive objective which takes account of the interrelationships between people, resources, environment, and development.” Its aim is to achieve international and intergenerational justice, and “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The Regulatory Challenge of Animal Cloning for Food – The Risks of Risk Regulation in the European Union
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (3/2010)
In this article I describe and analyse the current regulatory developments at EU level concerning the marketing of foods produced from cloned animals. As they are on the verge of commercialisation in countries outside the EU, especially in the United States, foods from cloned animals are likely to reach the European consumers in the foreseeable future. Yet at the moment there is no specific legal framework that regulates such products in the EU.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (3/2010)
In this article I describe and analyse the current regulatory developments at EU level concerning the marketing of foods produced from cloned animals. As they are on the verge of commercialisation in countries outside the EU, especially in the United States, foods from cloned animals are likely to reach the European consumers in the foreseeable future. Yet at the moment there is no specific legal framework that regulates such products in the EU.
Marine Snow Storms: Assessing the Environmental Risks of Ocean Fertilization
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2009)
The adverse impacts of anthropogenically induced climate change on the terrestrial and marine environments have been acknowledged by a succession of expert reports commissioned by global and national bodies.1 This recognition has prompted a variety of marine geo-engineering schemes to mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on the environment including enhanced schemes to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using the world’s oceans.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2009)
The adverse impacts of anthropogenically induced climate change on the terrestrial and marine environments have been acknowledged by a succession of expert reports commissioned by global and national bodies.1 This recognition has prompted a variety of marine geo-engineering schemes to mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on the environment including enhanced schemes to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using the world’s oceans.
Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2009)
There is now a general consensus that global warming is real and that one of the factors forcing climate change is the anthropogenic addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The implications of climate change for ecosystems are, however, not yet entirely understood. As the oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface and play a major role in the global carbon cycle, it is important to understand how a changing climate will affect the biota not only of terrestrial systems, but also of the marine environment.
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2009)
There is now a general consensus that global warming is real and that one of the factors forcing climate change is the anthropogenic addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The implications of climate change for ecosystems are, however, not yet entirely understood. As the oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface and play a major role in the global carbon cycle, it is important to understand how a changing climate will affect the biota not only of terrestrial systems, but also of the marine environment.
