ABSTRACT
The Central and Eastern European parties deliberated on the draft Cartagena text in detail, article by article, and developed a common position. The Central and Eastern Europe Group was satisfied with the obligations finally adopted, including the exceptional provisions for living modified organisms (LMO) intended for direct use as food, feed, or for processing, which stipulated that their import should be permitted provided that the advance informed agreement procedure is applied prior to their first transboundary movement. The Central and Eastern Europe parties wanted an obligation in the protocol for exact information to be given to the public on LMOs or products thereof. Compulsory labelling of all kinds of LMO products was evidence of the principle of people’s rights in the area. The solution of the labelling issue was that there would be no obligation to provide exact labelling, even for LMO- food, feed and processing (FFP); instead, LMO-FFP shipments would be marked to indicate that they ‘may contain’ LMOs.
