Comments on the EFSA ‘Guidance on the Post-Market Environmental Monitoring of genetically modified plants’

 On request of the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has revised the guidance on the Post-Market Environmental Monitoring (PMEM) of genetically modified (GM) plants. The European Commission gives Member States the opportunity to react on the final version of this guidance. On request of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, COGEM discusses in the present document how the final version of the document relates to EFSA’s previously issued draft version on the guidance, and to earlier comments of COGEM on this draft version.

COGEM welcomes the final version of the revised Scientific Opinion on guidance on the PMEM. COGEM is pleased with the document, which brings PMEM to a more elaborate level. It clearly describes the monitoring approach and possible subjects for monitoring, and is in line with previous COGEM advices on this topic. COGEM appreciates that most of its comments, submitted during the public consultation on the draft version of the guidance, have been taken into account. However, a few of COGEM’s previous comments are not sufficiently addressed. These remaining aspects are discussed in the present advice.