Bulgaria Parliament Eases Laws on GM Crop Cultivation
Environment | January 13, 2010, Wednesday
The amendments have caused outrage amongst local environmental NGOs who argued that harmonization with the EU is necessary, but it should not be at the expense of Bulgarian nature and farmers. Photo by greenpeace.org.uk
The Bulgarian Parliament has approved amendments to the law on Genetically Modified Organisms at the first reading on Wednesday.
The amendments have caused outrage amongst local environmental NGOs who argued that harmonization with the EU is necessary, but it should not be at the expense of Bulgarian nature and farmers.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party and ethnic Turkish DPS party voted against the changes but they were passed by the other political parties.
Bulgaria Environment Minister, Nona Karadzhova, stated that the amendments were necessary to bring Bulgaria inline with the rest of the EU and that they will not lead to the sale of GMO products in Bulgaria or the increased cultivation of GM crops.
MPs have been given a prolonged 21 days to propose changes to the amendments.
"The time for changes to the law on GMOs now is particularly inappropriate because the European Commission is currently discussing new legislation on GMOs, and in a few months it will be necessary to change the law again " Agrolink Director Dr. Svetla Nikolova concluded.
Tags: GM crops, GMOs, Nona Karadzhova
» Subscribe to receive alerts by email for any of these keywords.
