Fico: Slovakia to Sue EU Over Deregulation of New GMOs

Slovakia will file a lawsuit against the European Commission (EC) before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) over the bloc’s decision to deregulate new genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Prime Minister Robert Fico made the announcement after a government meeting, the Slovak news agency TASR reported.

The regulation, approved by the EU in June, exempts genetically modified plants produced using new genomic techniques (NGTs) from existing GMO rules.

“The regulation sparked serious protests because, in practice, it said that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about. There is no evidence for that, and we do not know what effects it could have on people. We have decided to take legal action against this regulation,” Fico said.

The regulation has also been criticized in an appeal addressed to Agriculture Minister Richard Takac. The appeal was signed by representatives of several organizations, including members of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, former ministers, the Slovak Beekeepers Association, Greenpeace Slovakia, the Slovak Hunting Association, the civic initiative We Are the Forest, and the Slovak Association of Bakers, Confectioners and Pasta Producers.

According to the signatories, the new rules conflict with the EU’s precautionary principle, consumer rights and several international agreements. | BGNES