04 Novembre 2008

In the gloomiest days of the financial collapse, the European Union didn’t make anything. Only European prime ministers have taken decisions, when EU’s commission was silent. Practically, like Badoglio in the 8th of September (with the dissolution of the Italian fascist bureaucracy), the Eurocracy melt. For a moment, we hoped it was starting to die.

Instead, NO! It continued to work, as usual: in the darkness! Busily, Barroso gathers together secret groups to solve a problem that he (and Monsanto) considers really urgent: to rout people’s opposition to Genetically Modified Seeds.

During last summer, Barroso, EU commission’s president, written a letter to all Chiefs of State and Prime Ministers of the 27 Member-states, asking them to send to Bruxelles a representative to build a “political workgroup” about GMOs, known in corridors of Bruxelles as “Sherpa’s group”.

The typical euro-conspiratorial method: the «sherpas» are non-elected officials that take the load till to the peak – explaining this metaphor, they prepare the fundamental parts of new directives and the strategy to let the people bite the bullet – until the so-called «elected representatives», the ruling executive elected by us, is called to put the sign and the reputation on what has been decided.

Sherpas gathered together at least twice, the last on 10th of October, obviously behind closed doors, with the chairmanship of Joao Vale de Almeida, Barroso’s chief of staff, underlining the extreme importance given by Barroso to this matter.

Neither members list, nor objectives of the Sherpas’ group, nor the results of these meetings have been made public (1).

Representing Italy, there was Massimo Gaiani, coordinator of the European Affairs Interdepartmental Commission administrative office of the Italian government.

As noticed by The Independent, with this initiative Barroso «has bypassed his Environment, Agriculture and Health commissioners and, clearly, all national ministers that are responsible of decisions about GMOs»

Also this is another old method: invented by Jean Monnet, the man endorsed by American bankers to manage Marshall Plan, spiritual father of the supranational community.

The purpose which the Sherpa are working on, in secrecy, is to accelerate GMOs’ approval, that is slowed down and stopped by states under pressure of the people. Why all this hurry?

“Because”, says the Independent, “the USA have lamented that the two years and a half used by EU to give approval on a genetically modified seed is too much time”; and, obviously, also “biotech industries and other supporters of GMOs in Europe are lamenting that this period of time is too large and let Europe withdraw compared to the rest of the world”. It’s an obstacle to the so famous “Research & development”. . .  and to big businesses!!!

To be real, in the rest of the world there are rules that are a lot stronger than European laws.

Argentina asks 3 years for GMOs’ approval; Brazil requires from 3 to 5 years. Also China – well known for its lacks in health systems and unscrupulous food controls – asks 2 years and a half for the approval proceedings, with rules very similar to European ones.

But Barroso wants – because of the orders from Washington to him – that EU uses times and methods of the USA: 15 months (1 year and 3 months) for approval but also less time, because in America a safety and security evaluation of a new GMO is made “only if the company (asking for GMO authorization) demonstrates that such an evaluation is necessary”. Obviously MONSANTO, CIBA and others have never requested this caveat.

Already now the Commission (with lobbyists of this market sector saying that are having with EU commission “an excellent work relation”) has conquered the power to authorize the marketing and sowing of GMOs over all European land, even if – as usually happens – governments and their ministers give together an opposite opinion. But this method to bypass governments in a so shameless way, if made too frequently, is unpleasant and provokes disagreements and ecologists’ protests.

You must know that only Spain and Portugal (oops! incidentally, the states where Barroso has a strong influence . .) are sowed with GMOs. France, that in a first time authorized farming in controlled, restricted and limited areas, has stopped cultivations. In the liberal Great Britain, the most faithful to liberal dogma (that says “the market can regulate itself”), the opposition of the farmers stopped sowings.

The slogan of the MONSANTO’s propaganda – GMOs are needed to feed hungry mouths of the world – is a bit breathless, all the more that Europe isn’t Bangladesh, and its farmers must be paid to produce lesser, or are punished if produce too much.

In Europe, the introduction of Genetically Modified Seeds is glaringly futile.

Therefore, secret meetings of the Sherpas have decided to launch a renewed campaign pro-GMOs, and that this new propaganda must be undertaken “from above”.

October’s meeting, in fact, is made to invite prime ministers and chiefs of states to step forward of an “enriched debate” on the topic. In few words, to encourage chiefs of states and prime ministers to bypass their own Public Health, Environment and Agriculture ministers, and put them on the right way. . . traced by MONSANTO.

The secret documents revealed by the Independent start saying that EU’s restrictions to GMO’s approvals and import are “a menace for agriculture” (sic). They continue ensuring that “a growing positive interest for GMOs’ usage inside EU has been detected”, perfect example of Eurocratic fabrication, looking at the facts, like the fact that France decided very recently to enter in the group of countries that has decided for total prohibition, and has denied the authorization to cultivate the only GMO seed that had permitted before (a GMO maize from MONSANTO, it’s obvious and futile to say), and that in 2007 only 0,119% of cultivable land was seeded with GMOs.

After this exhibition of honeyed Eurocratic wooden language, the document invites chiefs and prime ministers, directly, “ to manage better the vox populi” that, in Barroso’s opinion – he is directly quoted in these documents – “is badly informed”, and that agriculture ministers must face the people and defend this novelty.

Barroso, personally, invites them to “a not passionate dialog, based on facts, that underlines the super-armored norms that disciplines GMOs’ policy in EU”. To this dialog, the president-commissioner ensures, “the industry, economic partners and the science” are agreeable to “participate actively”. In order to not leave “the debate in the hands of some groups that have a proper interest but material”.

It seems that he alludes to ecologist groups or proponents of the traditional agriculture; evidently not MONSANTO, because it hasn’t a material interest (sic!) in this debate.

In short, we’ll see soon this propaganda ‘from above’. Umberto Veronesi (2, T’s N) (in Italy, the “science”, brrrr . . .) has been already enlisted: its Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (shadow manager of Genextra, T’s N) participates (not for free) at “Flora project” of the EU, that has given us the blue tomato, genetically modified with the purpose of loading it with antocyanines, that Veronesi praised as a panacea against cancer, ageing and all the others human diseases (without explaining that all the quantity of antocyanin of only one of that tomatoes, if eaten in only one salad, is lethal).

But this is only the start.

We hazard a forecast: in next weeks, our beloved President of the Republic will ensure us, with one of his sedate speeches, that GMOs are good, moderate and bipartisan, and he will admonish us paternally to not pick and choose. Or maybe he will say us that who doesn’t eat the blue tomato is Anti-Semitic ?

The president, as well known, has already admonished us about the fact that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. The source for his fatherly warnings, in short, is always the same: the Kommission, that is Washington.

We still have only one, vague hope: that our government will not surrender, at least because the triumph of GMOs wanted by Barroso would be the ruin for an entire economic branch that is dear to the salami (Berlusconi, T’sN), the “quality” food, the “natural” and “locally made” food; one of the last sectors remaining in the black in our economy,

Our hope is obviously very feeble. Usually, in Europe, decisions are taken only if convenient for Germany, Nederland, France or other Nordic countries, with a good and quite big lobby in Bruxelles.

The historic and shining example: the EU ordered to label as “chocolate” a mix made with jojoba wax (basic raw material for floor polish wax) that passes for chocolate in Sweden and Norway. Obviously this damages the real chocolate, made strictly with cocoa butter by our best producer, and French producers also (T’s N: Italians are the best producers of the world, in terms of quality, and French and Swiss are also very, very good).

Sarkozy, anything he thinks about GMOs, will never dare to fight his proud paysans. To the secret meetings he sent his chief of staff, meaning that he wants to be very well informed about everything is said during the meetings.

But, in any case: which is the list of urgencies and priorities in Europe?

The 27 have been invited by Sarko in Vichy 3rd and 4th  of November: topic. . . the integration. Politically correct, of course. But this, when many European countries all together are risking insolvency. Their T-bills are not bought anymore.

Austria, 27th of October, had to delete a sale of T-bills; Belgium and Spain had already done this, because potential buyers asked for higher earnings to cover the higher state-risk.

Italy, with its public debt equal to 105% of its GDP (3rd of the world after USA’s and Japan’s) is in tremendous troubles. In 2009 our department of treasure will must refinance 198 billion Euros of public debt, that are expiring: it means that must offer new Italian T-bills (BOT: Buoni Ordinari del Tesoro, Ordinary Treasury Bill) to cover older T-bills. Who will buy them?

In the same period, also Germany will sell Bund to refinance “crumbs” like 173 billion Euros, France for refinance 135 billion Euros, Spain for 57 billion Euros. These foreign T-bills in Euros are in competition with our T-bills, and will dry up the few money minded to be employed in public debts.

You must keep in high esteem the banks, they also are searching for funds. Unicredit is exposed with “growing” Eastern Europe countries for 130 billion Euros, Banca Intesa for 50; together they reach the amount to refinance Italian or German debt.

Now we have come to the point that Daniel Gros and Stefano Micossi (the two journalists that were the first to announce the fact that many European banks were exposed for figures higher than GDP’s of their home countries) are writing this on their last report:

“In the moment in which Europe is facing the worst economic and financial crisis since WW2, the usual decision-making mechanisms have been overcome. Europe requires actions on a scale that can only be decided by the highest political levels, meaning the making of an European Financial Stability Fund, that issues securities on the international market with the explicit guarantee of the member states (3).

These are the matters Europe should preoccupy with urgency. Instead, the GMOs before. And the integration.

by Maurizio Blondet

Translate by O.I

Source >  EFFEDIEFFE.com | oct 31

---

1) Geoffrey Lean, «Europe’s secret plan to boost GM crop production», Independent, 26th  October 2008.
2 T’s N) TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: Umberto Veronesi is a scientist, doctor specialized in oncology, well known in Italy for his big campaign for giving total freedom to research, deleting any limit to the work that any scientist does, he owns a big research center for studies on oncology, nanotechnologies and genetics.
3) Daniel Gros, Stefano Micossi, «A call for a European Financial Stability Fund», CEPS, 30th October 2008.