Skip to content
Adopted text

Genetically modified soybean MON 87751 × MON 87701 × MON 87708 × MON 89788

TA-9-2020-0365 · P9_TA(2020)0365 · PE661.541

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 25 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament adopted a resolution objecting to a draft Commission decision authorising products containing genetically modified soybean MON 87751 × MON 87701 × MON 87708 × MON 89788 under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003. It considers the draft decision exceeds the Commission's implementing powers and is not consistent with Union law, and calls on the Commission to withdraw it. It raises concerns about missing analysis of herbicide residues, combinatorial toxicity, Bt protein effects on the immune system, and the lack of maximum residue levels and controls for glufosinate. It reiterates calls on the Commission to stop authorising GMOs when Member States deliver no opinion, not to authorise herbicide-tolerant GM crops pending full residue assessment, and not to authorise imports tolerant to herbicides not authorised in the Union. It calls for sustainability criteria, respect for international obligations, and suspension of imports of GM soybeans from Brazil and Argentina until binding anti-deforestation mechanisms are in place.

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 not consistent with Union law, as it is not compatible with the aim of ensuring a high level of protection of human and animal health and environmental and consumer interests.
  3. It calls on the Commission to withdraw its draft implementing decision.
  4. It welcomes the Commission's recognition of the need to take sustainability into account in GMO authorisation decisions, but expresses disappointment that another GM soybean was authorised on 28 September 2020 despite objections.
  5. It calls on the Commission to develop sustainability criteria with full involvement of Parliament and to provide information on the process and timeframe.
  6. It urges the Commission to take into account the Union's obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
  7. It reiterates its call on the Commission to stop authorising GMOs when no opinion is delivered by Member States in the Appeal Committee.
  8. It reiterates its call not to authorise herbicide-tolerant GM crops until health risks from residues, break-down products and combinatorial effects are comprehensively investigated case by case.
  9. It reiterates its call not to authorise imports for food or feed of GM plants tolerant to a herbicide-active substance not authorised for use in the Union.
  10. It reiterates its call to EFSA to develop and systematically use methods to identify unintended effects of stacked GM events, such as adjuvant properties of Bt toxins.
  11. It reiterates its consternation that the Union's dependence on imported soybean feed causes deforestation in third countries.
  12. It welcomes the announced Commission legislative proposal on deforestation due by June 2021 and reiterates its call to immediately suspend imports of GM soybeans cultivated in Brazil and Argentina until binding mechanisms prevent products associated with deforestation from entering the Union market.

Who is affected

  • The Commission, which is asked to withdraw the draft decision, stop certain authorisations and develop sustainability criteria.
  • The European Food Safety Authority, which is asked to develop methods to identify unintended effects of stacked GM events.
  • Member States, whose competent authorities raised critical comments and whose lack of qualified majority support is noted.
  • Operators and consumers, affected by imports of GM soybean and herbicide residues.

Figures and deadlines

  • 17 December 2015: date Monsanto Europe N.V. submitted the application.
  • 26 October 2020: date of the Standing Committee vote at which no opinion was delivered.
  • 25 September 2019: date EFSA adopted its opinion; published 11 November 2019.
  • 31 July 2018: date the approval of glufosinate for use in the Union expired.
  • 2020, 2021 and 2022: years of the coordinated multiannual control programme under which Member States are not obliged to measure glufosinate residues on any products, including soybean.
  • 97 % and 100 %: shares of soya cultivated in Brazil and Argentina respectively that is GM soya.
  • 13.8 %: how much larger the Union's carbon footprint from Brazilian soya imports is than China's.
  • June 2021: due date for the announced Commission legislative proposal on deforestation.

Legal basis: Articles 7(3) and 19(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.