Contested Accountability Claims and GMO Regulation in the European Union

Abstract: This article investigates the EU's regulation of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) to argue the potential for difficult-to-reconcile conflicts to arise between the internal accountability standards of Member State citizens and external accountability obligations to fellow WTO (World Trade Organization) members.

Tracing the internal-external accountability conflicts to the distinct EU-WTO political cultures of GMO risk regulation, the article documents EU decision-makers' attempts to reconcile internal and external accountability claims in the redesign of the EU GMO regulatory framework and the continuing internal and external controversy that surrounds its implementation.