VZCZCXRO0282
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHVI #1232 1220642
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020642Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3275
INFO RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 1121
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1319
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS VIENNA 001232 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/ABT AND EUR/AGS 
STATE PASS TO USTR 
USDA FOR FAS/FAA (DEVER) AND FAS/ITP/(SHEIKH AND HENKE) 
USDA FOR FAS/OA/BIOTECH GROUP (B.SIMMONS) 
USEU BRUSSELS FOR AGR MINISTER COUNSELOR 
EU MEMBER STATES FOR AGR COUNSELORS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR TBIO ETRD AU
SUBJECT:  CONFERENCE ON "THE ROLE OF PRECAUTION IN GMO 
POLICY" 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  On April 18-19, the Austrian EU Presidency hosted an 
experts meeting on the precautionary principle in the 
context of agricultural biotechnology.  The meeting aimed to 
reinforce the role of the precautionary principle in 
agricultural biotechnology.  The conference revealed 
differences among participants from the Member States, the 
Commission, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 
academics on application, but there was overwhelming support 
to strengthen precautionary rules. The only U.S. participant 
was Margaret Mellon from the Union of Concerned Scientists. 
During opening remarks, Austrian Minister of Health Maria 
Rauch-Kallat repeated the GoA view that the EU needs common 
rules on biotech co-existence and liability.  End summary. 
 
 
Political and Regulatory Context 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  German scientist and NGO activist Christine von 
Weizaecker argued that application of the precautionary 
principle was valid even when there is no scientific 
evidence for a risk.  She criticized "sound science" as a 
political tool designed to delay safety obligations or bans 
on potentially harmful technologies. 
 
¶3.  Kathryn Tierny from DG Environment voiced a clear 
commitment to the precautionary principle, exhorting risk 
assessors and risk managers to work more closely in deciding 
what actions to take to protect human health and the 
environment in light of current scientific knowledge. 
 
¶4.  Liina Eek from the Estonian Ministry of Environment 
discussed the implementation of the precautionary principle 
in a Central and East European (CEE) context.  Until 
countries establish functional biosafety frameworks, most 
CEE countries would try to restrict GMO imports.  She noted 
that legislation in all the CEE countries contains the 
precautionary principle, but each country defines it 
differently. 
 
 
Scientific Community 
-------------------- 
 
¶5.  Brian Wynne from Lancaster University's Centre for the 
Study of Environmental Change led a discussion on risk 
assessment and precaution.  He detailed the difference 
between risk assessment (assessment of a known risk with a 
certain probability) and precaution (considering an unknown 
risk).  He opined that science could not avoid the 
unpredictable, therefore justifying precaution. 
 
¶6.  Juergen Zentek from the Free University of Berlin 
pointed out that existing research methods cannot always 
detect the harmful risks of existing GMOs.  Christopher 
Pollok from the Institute of Grassland and Environmental 
Research in Wales discussed farm-level evaluations of 
herbicide tolerant crops carried out in the United Kingdom. 
He concluded that authorities should regulate all novel 
crops in the same manner as they regulate genetically 
modified crops. 
 
 
Conference Conclusions 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  The conference generated three conclusions: 1) 
conference participants overwhelmingly agreed that current 
EU precautionary rules are not strict enough; 2) the 
conference revealed significant differences amongst 
scientists and regulators on the precise definition of the 
precautionary principle; and 3) all experts agreed that 
precaution is an important tool for GMO policy, but that 
there are differences of opinion as to how to apply the 
principle. 
 
¶8.  For any additional information on the conference, please 
contact Embassy's Agricultural Specialist by e-mail: 
roswitha.krautgartner@usda.gov.