A communication of EU agricultural Commissioner Franz Fischler "regarding the Co-existence of genetically modified, conventional and organic crops" will be discussed in the EU Commission on Wednesday 5th of March and probably also at the Council of Environment Ministers tomorrow. The communication, which has be leaked today, describes the problem as concerning exclusively "the economic consequences of adventitious presence of genetically modified (GM) crops in non-GM crops" and proposes that "the burden of applying measures to deal with co-existence should fall on the economic operators (farmers, seed suppliers, etc.) who intend to gain a benefit from the specific cultivation model they have chosen." It also reiterates the Commissions proposal for contamination thresholds in seeds of 0,3 to 0,7%. Weighting different options the paper concludes that "the most efficient and cost-effective measures for ensuring co-existence are likely to be different from one Member State to another and from one region to another; makes an approach based on subsidiarity appear to be most suitable." It also states that "for organic farming the situation still has to be clarified". Environmental groups in Brussels criticised Fischlers suggestions for putting the burdon of costs and measures on those who wish to stay GMO free and demanded hard legislation on the issue.</p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/Communication_Fischler_02_2003.pdf">Fischlers Communication on co-existence</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/enviro_pe_03_03_03.pdf">Joint press release of Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and EEB</a></p><p><a href="http://www.zs-l.de/gmo/downloads/greens_03_03_03.pdf">Background briefing on the issue from European Parliaments Green group</a></p><p><a href="http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/3503602-951?targ=1&204&OIDN=1504844&-home=home">Coverage - EurActive: EU Heading for fierce debate on genetic contamination</a>