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Home > Press releases > Archived press releases > 2006 > Friends of the Earth barred from pro-industry biotech meeting
20 June 2006
Friends of the Earth has condemned a high-level meeting on Europe's future biotechnology strategy, taking place today behind closed doors and from which environmental NGOs have been barred entry [1].
The meeting, taking place in Helsinki, Finland was organised by the Finnish and Austrian Governments in collaboration with the European Commission and is part of a mid-term review of the EU's biotechnology strategy.
The biotech industry will be presented with preliminary results of a major Commission study and they will be invited to comment, even though the period for input from stakeholders like environmental and consumer groups has not even finished yet [2]. Friends of the Earth Europe has already criticised the study's lack of independence and transparency [3]. Issues such as competitiveness, the impacts of biotechnology, regulation of biotechnology and public perceptions of biotechnology, will also be discussed [4]. Finland takes over the EU Presidency from Austria in July.
Friends of the Earth's GMO Campaigner, Helen Holder said:
"Meeting in secret to discuss issues of high public importance is an absolute disgrace and a bad sign of what is to come under the Finnish Presidency of the EU. Once again, big industry has a permanent seat in biotech strategy discussions whereas environmental groups are barred."
"The review of the EU's biotech strategy should have been an excellent opportunity for an open debate on how Europe handles controversial technologies such as genetically modified food. Instead it has turned into a back-slapping exercise for the biotech industry whilst other stakeholders are kept out. This makes a farce out of the attempts to make this review transparent and open."
Friends of the Earth Europe is calling for:
[1] Friends of the Earth Europe enquired anonymously into free places at the event and were informed that several spaces were still available. When attempting to register minutes later in the name of Friends of the Earth Europe, conference organisers responded that unfortunately the event was full. A second anonymous query to the hotel venue confirmed that this was untrue.
When Friends of the Earth Finland went to the conference location this morning they were refused entry.
[2] "Consequences, opportunities and challenges of modern biotechnology for Europe", European Commission Directorate General Research, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies. http://bio4eu.jrc.es/
[3] Friends of the Earth Europe participated in the first stakeholder meeting in January 2006 and made a presentation at the second meeting in May 2006. Stakeholders have been given until June 30th to submit written papers for the study.
[4] Biotech Round Table Discussion, June 20th 2006, Helsinki. Programme at http://tekes.fi/neobio/
For further information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
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