Statement on the National Listing of Chardon LL

Members will be aware of the recent media coverage around the commercialisation of GM crops and in particular the addition of Chardon LL to the national list. The addition of Chardon LL to the national list needs the agreement of all four UK administrations and I stress that no decision has yet been made.
The Assembly has made clear its position with regard to GM crops on many occasions. We have consistently endorsed taking the most restrictive approach possible within current UK and European legislation. Those Members who sat in the first Assembly in 2001 will recall that I implemented measures to constrain the planting of a herbicide tolerant GM maize variety known as Chardon LL. During the farm-scale evaluations, the Assembly was the only administration in the UK to have in place legally enforceable separation distances between GM and non-GM crops. I took this bold—and, some might argue, groundbreaking—step, because I knew I had a cross-party mandate and the support of the majority of the people of Wales.
Assembly Members will be aware that the action taken to introduce statutory separation distances triggered significant debate within the EU. This culminated in changes to the deliberate release directive and the publication by the commission of guidelines on co-existence between GM and non-GM crops.
These changes allow the Assembly to take appropriate measures to avoid the unintended presence of genetically modified organisms in other products. As such, they provide a new and robust basis to protect conventional and organic crops, as well as consumer choice should commercialisation of GM crops take place.
The Assembly Government is concerned that sufficient controls should be in place to protect organic and conventional crops from possible GM crop contamination, thereby maintaining consumer choice. For this reason, I am in discussions with my colleagues at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and other devolved administrations to explore the possible introduction of GB-wide co-existence measures which could be put in place to protect organic and conventional crops. I am keen to see co-existence measures in place in Wales and will consult widely on options in the near future. I will, of course, keep the Assembly fully informed of developments.