PART D FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 31 Exchange of information and reporting
1. Member States and the Commission shall meet regularly and exchange information on the experience acquired with regard to the prevention of risks related to the release and the placing on the market of GMOs. This information exchange shall also cover experience gained from the implementation of Article 2(4), second subparagraph, environmental risk assessment, monitoring and the issue of consultation and information of the public.
Where necessary, guidance on the implementation of Article 2(4), second subparagraph, may be provided by the committee established under Article 30(1).
2. The Commission shall establish one or several register(s) for the purpose of recording the information on genetic modifications in GMOs mentioned in point A No 7 of Annex IV. Without prejudice to Article 25, the register(s) shall include a part which is accessible to the public. The detailed arrangements for the operation of the register(s) shall be decided in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 30(2).
3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 and point A No 7 of Annex IV,
(a) Member States shall establish public registers in which the location of the release of the GMOs under part B is recorded.
(b) Member States shall also establish registers for recording the location of GMOs grown under part C, inter alia so that the possible effects of such GMOs on the environment may be monitored in accordance with the provisions of Articles 19(3)(f) and 20(1). Without prejudice to such provisions in Articles 19 and 20, the said locations shall:
be notified to the competent authorities, and
be made known to the public
in the manner deemed appropriate by the competent authorities and in accordance with national provisions.
4. Every three years, Member States shall send the Commission a report on the measures taken to implement the provisions of this Directive. This report shall include a brief factual report on their experience with GMOs placed on the market in or as products under this Directive.
5. Every three years, the Commission shall publish a summary based on the reports referred to in paragraph 4.
6. The Commission shall send to the European Parliament and the Council, in 2003 and thereafter every three years, a report on the experience of Member States with GMOs placed on the market under this Directive.
7. When submitting this report in 2003, the Commission shall at the same time submit a specific report on the operation of part B and part C including an assessment of:
(a) all its implications, particularly to take account of the diversity of European ecosystems and the need to complement the regulatory framework in this field;
(b) the feasibility of various options to improve further the consistency and efficiency of this framework, including a centralised Community authorisation procedure and the arrangements for the final decision making by the Commission;
(c) whether sufficient experience has accumulated on the implementation of part B differentiated procedures to justify a provision on implicit consent in these procedures and on part C to justify the application of differentiated procedures; and
(d) the socioeconomic implications of deliberate releases and placing on the market of GMOs.
8. The Commission shall send to the European Parliament and the Council every year, a report on the ethical issues referred to in Article 29(1); this report may be accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal with a view to amending this Directive.