Trends in the Regulation of Genetically Modified Products in the European Union from 1990 to the Present

Abstract

The EU took its first steps towards regulation of genetically modified organisms and products in 1990. Over the next twenty years, the EU’s regulatory approach evolved to impose greater regulatory burdens on genetically modified products and to mandate ever greater disclosure to member states, EU institutions and to the ultimate consumers of these genetically modified products. As experience under the earlier regulatory initiatives accumulated, it became apparent that member state discretion frustrated the operation of a common approach to genetically modified products at the European level. In response to these shortcomings, centralization of regulatory authority in the hands of EU institutions proceeded apace, with the result that the Commission now drives the approval process for genetically modified products. This paper traces and analyzes these changes in EU regulation of genetically modified products over time.