US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE148

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000148 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/ERA AND EB/TPP/MTA 
COMMERCE FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/MROGERS 
USDA FOR BEVERLY SIMMON, BIOTECH GROUP 
STATE PASS USTR FOR LERRION 
USEU FOR KVIEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, EAGR, TBIO, EZ 
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC TO SUPPORT MON863 BIOTECH CORN 
APPROVAL IN EU COUNCIL 
 
 
1.  On January 26, Embassy economic officer and agricultural 
specialist met with Karel Blaha, the Director of the 
Department of Environmental Risks at the Ministry of 
Environment.  Blaha is the Czech official most involved in 
European Union rulemaking on issues affecting the environment 
such as biotech and chemicals regulation.  We visited Blaha 
after a meeting with the local representative of Monsanto in 
the Czech Republic. 
 
2.  Blaha said that at the EU regulatory committee meeting in 
October 2004 the Czech Republic abstained from the vote to 
approve MON863.  However, he said that he and the Czech 
Republic have consistently favored approval because the 
scientific studies do not show any convincing evidence of 
danger to humans or animals from consumption of MON863.  The 
GOCR's abstention was a tactic, because it was clear that the 
approval would not pass in the regulatory committee vote. 
Blaha was concerned that a yes vote by the Czech Republic 
might force other countries to cast a no vote and become 
entrenched in that position.  At the next Council vote, he 
intends for Minister of Environment Libor Ambrozek to vote in 
favor of approval. 
 
3.  Blaha remarked that he is disappointed that politics is 
playing such a large role in the debate over GMO approvals. 
The GOCR will vote yes in the Council on MON863 in part to 
make a statement that the decision should be based on 
scientific, not political, principles.  He noted that after 
its change of government, Spain reversed course on MON863, 
and that Hungary also seems to be changing its attitudes away 
from support for biotech.  Poland, with its large 
agricultural base, has been careful and mostly abstained in 
EU votes on the issue, he noted.  A country's stance on 
biotech should not be affected by a change in its government, 
Blaha concluded. 
 
4.  We discussed the status of the REACH chemicals regulation 
with Blaha.  He said that the issue is attracting much more 
attention within the EU, and he was surprised by the crowds 
of people that attended the last working group session on it. 
 He expects there to be as many as nine working group 
meetings in early 2005 that he will have to attend.  The 
Czech "tripartita" -- the Council of Economic and Social 
Agreement composed of representatives of business, labor and 
government -- has warned the government of the potential loss 
of employment the regulation could cause.  Blaha reiterated 
that the GOCR is in favor of the British-supported concept of 
"one substance, one registration". 
CABANISS