The procedure on approving Amflora potato within the Community began in 2005 with a request filed by BASF to an appropriate GMO authority in Great Britain. During the meeting of the Agriculture Council on 16 July 2007, a qualified majority of votes was not reached and the Commission was obliged to reconsider the case. Since then, for almost three years, no information on this issue has been made public officially.
Member States have not been informed about the plans of the European Union.
Minister Marek Sawicki objected to the fact that after such a long period of time, during which new decision-making procedures were introduced and the composition of the European Commission was changed, the Commission, without consulting with the European Parliament, announced its decision on approval of genetically modified Amflora potato for cultivation.
Furthermore, Minister Sawicki protested against making information about the approval of new products public without prior notification to Member States.
Minister Marek Sawicki concluded that the lack of the European Parliament position on this issue, the fact that Member States were deprived of the possibility to express their final opinion and the position of the Polish government, in which Poland opposed the marketing of genetically modified, are the decisive factors in view of which the decision-making process in this particular case should not be considered as completed.