Biosafety Protocol (Hansard, 4 March 1999)

§ Joan Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will report progress in the Colombia negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol; and when he plans to make a statement on the final outcome.[72947]

§ Mr. Meacher
The Extraordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, meeting in Cartagena, Colombia failed to reach agreement on a biosafety protocol which is intended to govern the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs). The UK worked tirelessly alongside our European partners to seek to achieve a text acceptable to all sides that would secure adequate protection for the environment while avoiding the creation of unnecessary barriers to trade. However, while the EU' s proposal for a compromise package received widespread support, there was not consensus.
Among the key issues on which agreement could not be reached were how to deal with commodities intended for use as food or feed or for processing, the requirements for documentation or labelling of LMOs subject to transboundary movement and the relationship of the protocol to other international instruments.
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It was agreed to suspend the session of the Extraordinary COP and to reconvene, no later than the fifth ordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties which will be in May 2000, with a view to concluding the negotiations.
The UK, together with its European partners, will continue to participate actively in the process, with a view to concluding the Biosafety Protocol as a cornerstone of the international framework for biosafety.

§ Mr. Chope
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on implications for the United Kingdom of the breakdown in negotiations on the Biosafety protocol. [74148]

§ Mr. Meacher
[holding answer 2 March 1999]: The Government were disappointed that the Extraordinary Conference of the Parties that met in Cartagena last week was suspended and therefore not able to adopt the Biosafety Protocol. Among the key issues on which agreement could not be reached were how to deal with commodities intended for use as food or feed or for processing, the requirements for documentation or labelling of LMOs subject to transboundary movement and the relationship of the protocol to other international instruments.
The Government consider it important to maintain the momentum gained in Cartagena towards the development of international rules and procedures covering the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs). The UK, together with its European partners, will continue to participate actively in the process, with a view to concluding the Biosafety Protocol as a cornerstone of the international framework for biosafety.
There are no immediate implications for the UK of the breakdown since the European Community legislation already controls all releases and marketing of LMOs within the Community including imports into the Community. At the international level, the Government will continue to promote the use of the UNEP International Technical Guidelines for Safety in Biotechnology wherever possible since these are currently the mainstay of the international framework for biosafety.