According to a German newspaper report there will be no Amflora cultivation in 2009. In May 2008, the EU Commission had requested an additional opinion from the EFSA after memberstates did not find a qualified majority to approve or reject BASF's application to cultivate the GM ptotato in Europe. Concerns were raised repeatedly about the antibiotic resistance marker gene nptII in Amflora, that among others concerns antibiotica used as a last resort for multi-resistant tuberculosis.
But a closer look at the Draft Decision by the EU Commission also shows that the EU Commission came to a very different conclusion about risks and risk management of Amflora cultivation. While the EFSA stated that they agreed with BASF that no case-specific monitoring was needed, the EU Commission drafted a decision in which case-specific monitoring was requested to monitor effects on potato feeding animals on and around the fields - an issue the EFSA had not even considered in its review of the application. (More details in the German report EU-Risikomanagement.)
Already in 2008 2008, BASF had sued the EU Commission for unduly delaying a decision. A new EFSA opinion was expected on 15 December, but now will only be published in March 2009 - too late for planting in 2009, independent of what the outcome of this new opinion will be.

An assessment of statements and decisions by the EU Commission shows that the EU Commission repeatedly points to the independence of the EFSA instead of taking up the responsibility to assess and control the work of the EFSA. So far the Commission usually hides behind the EFSA opinions and in practice even leaves the power to take decisions to the EFSA even though this is in contradiction to the EU regulation. In other cases however, like the cultivation of Bt11, 1507 maize and Amflora, at least some parts of the EU Commission disagree with the EFSA opinion.

For the third time now the EFSA has given a positive opinion on the two maize events Bt11 and 1507.
In November 2007, Environmental Commissioner Dimas had proposed that an approval for cultivation for these Bt-maize events should not be given. In May 2008 the Commission send the two notifications back to the EFSA with the explicit question to review eleven scientific studies that had come out since the EFSA gave its last opinion. Now on 29 October 2008, the EFSA once more gave an opinion - and once more it is positive.
How can it be that over years now the Competent Authorities of several memberstates as well as the DG Environment sees risks in the cultivation of these Bt maize - but the EFSA simply maintains their position that everything is fine? Do the members of the GMO Panel have such a completely different view on what makes a risk?

On 20 February 2007, the EU Environmental Ministers are supposed to decide on an application by BASF for the cultivation of a genetically modified potato. BASF seems to be optimistic that this application will be approved: the company already registered in January more then 150 hectares in the German states Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for commercial cultivation. But somehow nobody seems to raise this issue, nobody seems to oppose it. Five good reasons to act against the approval of BASF's GM potato Amflora.