The head of the European parliament rejected on Tuesday ”lectures” from the United States about genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and again blasted a US argument linking the issue to famine in Africa.
In the latest swipe in a transatlantic row over GMOs, Parliament chief Pat Cox said the European Union (EU), and its member states, is the world’s biggest food and development aid donor.
He was speaking ahead of a debate on new legislation regarding GMOs, which has moved up the political agenda since the US lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over a de facto EU ban on GMO products.
”I hope we will be passing legislation on tracing and labeling of GMOs and that is part of a contribution by the European institutions to this debate,” Cox told reporters.
”But I completely and totally reject the proposition of linking the GMO debate to famine in Africa. This is not a sustainable argument,” he said.
The United States says that by blocking the import of US-produced genetically modified foods, European countries are causing untold suffering among the Third World’s starving poor.
Cox dismissed the argument. ”The European Union and its member states today outspends the United States by a factor of three to one in official development aid policy,” he said.
”And we … constitute the largest donor community of food and humanitarian aid in the world, bar none, including the USA. So we don’t need to be lectured on humanitarian priorities,” he added.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country has just handed over the EU presidency to Italy, said the Union had explained its position to US President George Bush at a US-EU summit in Washington last week.
He called for emotions to be cooled over the issue. ”Maybe there were angry comments in American newspapers. This always happens when there is a pressure in order to promote their policy,” he said.
”But we must not get nervous if there are angry comments in papers. We must be very constant, continue our policy and if we have frank discussions we will find solutions.” – Sapa-AFP