US embassy cable - 04MADRID4709

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 004709 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, EAID, ETRD, SENV, SP, Trade Issues 
SUBJECT: BIOSAFETY DEVELOPMENTS IN SPAIN 
 
REF: (A) STATE 259661 (B) GAIN REPORT NUMBER:SP4028 
 
1. This message is sensitive but unclassified. 
 
2. (U) Summary: The Zapatero government is changing Spain's 
previously pro-biotech position to one more opposed to the 
technology.  This is clear from Environment Minister 
Narbona's statements, Spanish votes on EU Commission biotech 
proposals, a draft co-existence decree, and a generally go 
slow attitude on pending applications.  Similarly to many 
other countries though, the Agriculture Ministry largely 
remains a supporter of the technology. Embassy will make the 
President's office (Moncloa - Zapatero is called the 
"President" not Prime Minister) aware of the negative effects 
of these changes in policy.  End Summary 
 
ENVIRONMENT HOSTILE TO BIOTECH 
 
 
3. (U) Although the Zapatero government has not released a 
formal policy statement on agricultural biotechnology, it is 
clear from Environment Minister Cristina Narbona's remarks 
that she, at any rate, is hostile to the technology.  For 
example, she was quoted on June 23 by Agence France Presse as 
saying: "In recent years Spain has become Europe's big 
granary of GM corn.  This is the result of a decision by the 
previous government to allow the growing in our country of a 
crop on which the scientific community has yet to form a 
conclusive opinion.  There are those who believe this should 
not be a cause for concern and others, more independent of 
the lines of research financed by the biotech industry, who 
hold a different opinion."  This is important because even 
though biotech-related decisions (for instance on EU votes) 
are subject to decisions by representatives from seven 
ministries and agencies in the so-called Inter-Ministerial 
Council, Environment is clearly very important on these 
issues. 
 
4. (U) The Inter-Ministerial Council is chaired by the 
Environment Ministry's Jaime Alejandre Martinez (Director 
General for Quality and Environmental Evaluation). 
Environment has two other Director General level 
representatives; Agriculture two; Health three; Industry 
(responsible for trade) one; Education and Science two; and 
Interior one.  Each Director General has one vote.  If there 
is a tie, Alejandre casts the determining vote. 
 
5. (SBU) EconOff and ESTOff met with Environment Subdirector 
for Air Quality and Risk Prevention Ana Fresno and Technical 
Analyst Lucia Roda on 12/9/04.  They were very upfront about 
the GOS's changes in position with respect to agricultural 
biotechnology and said they were politically, rather than 
scientifically, motivated.  Fresno said there was some 
scientific justification for proceeding with care on biotech 
rapeseed products but none with respect to corn. 
 
 
SPAIN EU VOTES 
 
 
6. (U) A local Monsanto representative provided the following 
list of votes this year on which Spain abstained and on which 
the Aznar government would probably have voted in favor. 
Fresno and Roda shared this opinion. 
 
a) NK603 Novel Foods (NL) - Regulatory Committee Vote, April 
30 
 
b) GT73 - Dir 2001/18/EC Import (NL) - Regulatory Committee 
Vote, June 16 
 
c) NK603 - 2001/18/EC - Environment Council Vote, June 28 (an 
especially noteworthy 
   decision given that Spain's regulatory authorities 
previously approved this event) 
 
d) NK603 Novel Foods - Agriculture Council Vote, July 19 
 
e) MON 863 - Dir 2001/18 Import (DE) - Regulatory Committee 
Vote, November 29 
 
PROPOSED COEXISTENCE DECREE 
 
 
7. (U) The Government of Spain is currently preparing a 
coexistence decree (ref B).  The government has not released 
an official proposal, but the latest available draft may make 
it more difficult in some cases to use already approved 
biotech corn varieties.  Essentially, the GOS intends to 
mandate a 25 meter distance between biotech and conventional 
fields.  The draft has both positive and negative elements as 
USDA notes (ref B). The USDA report states: "If ultimately 
sustained, as we believe it is currently drafted, it could 
centralize, maybe even increase the use of genetically 
modified corn (GM) varieties in some regions.  However, the 
decree will likely impose requirements not imposed on 
producers and consumers of other, non-GM corn varieties.  As 
a result, it will also likely add to the production costs of 
GM corn, and could deter GM production on small parcels." 
Consistent with the pattern from other countries, the 
rhetoric from the Spanish Agriculture Ministry is also 
different from the Environment Ministry.  Agriculture 
Ministry Director General Angel Luis Alvarez Fernandez was 
quoted in the December 13 edition of El Pais as saying that 
the "mixture of varieties is a frequent phenomenon in 
agriculture".  Moreover, he criticized the use of the word 
"contamination" because the biotech varieties used in Spain 
"do not involve a risk to human health".  Nonetheless, the 
local Monsanto representative says that the draft decree is 
"clearly discriminatory against GM crops and will inevitably 
have a dissuading effect on farmers". 
 
PENDING APPLICATIONS 
 
8. (SBU)  The local Monsanto representative says that the 
National Biosafety Commission is "uncharacteristically and 
unjustifiably dragging its feet with dossiers it is 
evaluating, specifically a Monsanto dossier, Roundup Ready 
corn for planting in Europe".  A Pioneer representative told 
EconOff that biotech cotton variety applications were also 
taking a long time to be processed.  There is interest among 
farmers in the water-deprived Autonomous Region of Andalusia 
for obtaining access to certain kinds of biotech cotton 
varieties. 
 
 
GOS CPB REPRESENTATION 
 
 
9. (SBU) Ana Fresno and Lucia Roda attend the Cartagena 
Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) meetings and will go to Montreal 
as well.  Fresno is the GOS representative to the EU CPB 
coordination meetings.  EconOff asked whether representatives 
from the Agriculture and Trade Ministries attend these 
meetings as well.  Fresno regretted that they do not.  Fresno 
added that she meets occasionally with industry but not 
frequently.  Brussels coordinates more with industry 
interests she said but not extensively.  Fresno and Roda were 
quite familiar with USG concerns on Article 18.2(a) and 
liability and redress. 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
 
10. (SBU) We will make clear to Zapatero's Economics Advisor 
that the GOS could demonstrate a constructive approach in our 
overall relationship by working with us on trade policy 
issues, including agricultural biotechnology.  This will be a 
hard sell, but the President's office awareness of USG 
interest in GOS trade, as well as political, policy positions 
should be reinforced. 
 
 
 
MANZANARES