Sittings · Document

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (D115874/01 – 2026/2784 (RSP)) 2026-09-02

On the draft Commission implementing decision renewing the authorisation for the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified maize MON 87460 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council

Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Sirpa Pietikäinen, Biljana Borzan, Martin Häusling, Anja Hazekamp

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Parliament's resolution objects to the draft Commission implementing decision renewing the authorisation for products containing genetically modified maize MON 87460. It finds the draft decision exceeds the Commission's implementing powers and is incompatible with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003. It calls on the Commission to withdraw the draft decision and not to renew the authorisation, citing insufficient evidence on long-term impacts on biodiversity, food safety, farmers' livelihoods and animal health. It asks the Commission to propose a reform of the GMO decision-making procedure, and says authorising imports of GM plants tolerant to herbicides banned in the Union is inconsistent with international commitments and disadvantages Union farmers.

Key points

  1. Parliament considers the draft Commission implementing decision exceeds the implementing powers provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.
  2. It considers the draft decision incompatible with the aim of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, which is to ensure a high level of protection of human life and health, animal health and welfare, and environmental and consumer interests.
  3. It calls on the Commission to withdraw its draft implementing decision.
  4. It calls on the Commission not to renew the authorisation of the GM maize, citing the lack of sufficient evidence on long-term impacts on biodiversity, food safety, farmers' livelihoods and animal health, in line with the One Health approach.
  5. It calls on the Commission to submit without delay a legislative proposal to reform the GMO decision-making procedure, responding to Parliament's objections and the lack of qualified majority support among member states.
  6. It says authorising imports of GM plants tolerant to herbicides banned in the Union, such as glufosinate, is inconsistent with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the Kunming-Montreal Framework, and creates an uneven playing field for Union farmers.
  7. It notes that the GM maize contains the nptII gene, conferring resistance to kanamycin and neomycin, which could raise concerns about transference of antimicrobial resistance.
  8. It notes that EFSA's risk assessments did not include long-term toxicological studies or detailed analysis of cumulative and combinatorial effects, including interactions with pesticide residues.
  9. It notes that herbicide-tolerant GM crops lock farmers into a weed management system dependent on herbicides, accelerating resistant weeds and worsening soil health, water quality and biodiversity.
  10. It notes that assessment of herbicide residues and metabolites on GM plants falls outside EFSA's remit and is not undertaken in the authorisation process.
  11. It notes that independent monitoring of adverse effects on biodiversity, soil health, pollinators and non-target organisms remains insufficiently guaranteed, and that the precautionary principle should apply in cases of scientific uncertainty.
  12. It notes that cultivation of the GM maize is not allowed in the Union, and that the draft decision would allow imports not complying with standards observed by Union farmers, placing them at a competitive disadvantage.

Who is affected

  • The Commission, which is asked to withdraw the draft decision, not renew the authorisation and propose a reform of the GMO decision-making procedure.
  • Union farmers, who the resolution says face an uneven playing field and a competitive disadvantage from imports not meeting Union standards.
  • Member states, whose lack of qualified majority support in the Standing Committee is cited as a reason to reform the procedure.
  • Consumers and animals, exposed to herbicide residues on food and feed according to the resolution.

Figures and deadlines

  • 10 June 2026: date of the Standing Committee vote at which no opinion was delivered.
  • 29 October 2025: date EFSA adopted its opinion on the GM maize.
  • 8 December 2025: date EFSA's opinion was published.
  • 11 March 2024: date Bayer Agriculture BV submitted the renewal application.
  • 2012: year EFSA published the original risk assessment on the GM maize.

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