On June 20, 2013 the European Commission took Poland to the EU Court of Justice for failure to comply with the principles of monitoring of GM crops, including Registry location of such crops.
Directive 2001/18/EC requires that the locations of GM crops be notified to the competent national authorities, record these in the registry be established in a Member State and data be available to the public. With this procedure, citizens are guaranteed access to the relevant information, it is possible to monitor the effects that GMOs may have on the environment, and it is possible to apply the rules of coexistence. Poland has not yet introduced these requirements into national law. GMOs can be cultivated in the EU after receiving approval and obtaining a positive result of the risk assessment for human and animal health and the environment. On November 22, 2012, the Commission sent a note to Poland in which it asked that Poland takes action to make up for the shortcomings in the implementation of EU legislation in the field of monitoring of GM crops.
To date, however, Poland, after repeated requests from the Commission on the implementation of the relevant requirements into its national laws, does not comply with the relevant provisions of EU law.
In January 2013 through Ministerial Decree, Poland prohibited cultivation of the genetically modified MON 810 maize and Amflora potato events. At the same time the State Plant Health and Seed is obligated to check that GM crops are in fact not cultivated in Poland.
