European Commission Recommendation on the development of national coexistence measures

It is little known that, in addition to directives and regulations, the institutions of the European Union can also adopt decisions, recommendations, and opinions. Recommendations and opinions are not legally binding. However, they often provide an EU-wide agreed basis for the interpretation and application of European legal provisions.
In 2010, the European Commission, based on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the Deliberate Release Directive, adopted guidelines for the development of national coexistence measures to prevent the unintentional presence of GMOs in conventional and organic crops. These recommendations are addressed to Member States, who are called upon to take appropriate measures to prevent the unintentional presence of genetically modified organisms in other products. The Commission believes that it may be necessary for Member State authorities to take measures regarding the areas where GMOs are grown that allow consumers and producers to distinguish between genetically modified, conventional, and organic crops. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide general principles for the development of national measures to prevent the unintentional presence of GMOs in conventional and organic crops. The EU Commission assumes that, in addition to the labelling threshold of 0.9%, Member States can also take local measures to exempt areas of their territory from GMO cultivation.
It is currently unclear whether the Commission's recommendation will be changed in light of the European Court of Justice's decision on the beekeeping case (see Genetic Engineering Report 09/2011 ).

This publication can also be found on the website of the law firm Dr. Kauch .