Commission revises EU decision-making rules in move to avoid blame | WPN World People News

On February 14, the European Commission presented a proposal to revise the decision-making rules under the so-called “comitology” procedure that is used, among other things, for approvals of products such as pesticides and GMOs. The proposal changes the voting rules for the Appeal Committee, which is invoked when there is no qualified majority of member states for or against in the first committee mandated to vote. Appeal Committee abstentions would not be counted. This could open the door to regulatory approvals even when only a small number of countries support them, said Greenpeace.

Greenpeace EU food policy director Franziska Achterberg said: “The proposed voting rules will just make it easier for the Commission to take bad decisions without taking the blame. They won’t do anything to make the EU more democratic. If these proposals become law, the Commission will be able to say a majority of EU countries is backing the use of controversial products when in reality only a small number of countries are.”

“Democratic decision-making requires that the EU only allow the use of potentially harmful products, such as pesticides and GMOs, if our governments are confident that they will not cause harm. No such products should be allowed without the support of a real majority of countries.”

The Commission’s proposal was triggered by last year’s glyphosate debate.

Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace, HEAL, IFOAM EU and Pesticide Action Network Europe are calling for a qualified majority of all EU countries to be mandatory when deciding to allow the use of potentially hazardous products and food preparation processes. This was one of the options considered by the Commission at an earlier stage.

Source: Greenpeace EU Unit