Previous Online Discussions of the AHTEG

POSTED ON BEHALF OF BEATRIX TAPPESER

-----

Dear Manoela

I attach a just published report commissioned by my Agency and worked out by the Environment Agency of Austria together with collaborators. It is an analysis of the ERA provided with  European applications for cultivation. It identifies deficits and shortcomings and contains proposals for improvement.

out of the summary:
....."Against this background the aim of this report was to scrutinize the current practice of environ-mental risk assessment of several GMO notifications currently pending for authorization in the EU. For this purpose representative GMO notifications submitted either according to Directive 2001/18/EC or Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 were chosen focusing on crops with commercial impor-tance in the EU (maize, oilseed rape,
potato) as well as balancing GM traits (insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, starch content, *stacked event* GMOs). All notifications included cultivation in their scope of notification. The environmental risk assessments as carried out in these notifications were analyzed whether they fulfilled general scientific standards and requirements according to legal provisions and relevant guidance documents.
This report thus presents a critical appraisal of the environmental risk assessment of selected GMO notifications and identifies major shortcomings in the current practice of environmental risk assessment.
Suggestions for improvements in the risk assessment methodology are made and needs for further guidance and standardization outlined. The suggestions for improvements and recommendations address likewise notifiers, risk assessors as well as decision makers".....

We would appreciate if you could send this message to all AHTEG members together with the attachment and in addition add the report to the background documents.

Thank you very much.

Best regards

Beatrix