EU GMO Scofflaw

In a statement yesterday, the EU Commission has declared the ineffectiveness of WTO law to influence its conduct.  Speaking of the anticipated WTO panel report in GMOs:  "Only products recognised as safe will be allowed and the WTO report will not influence the decision-making process in the EU."  There are two ways to understand this statement.  First, the EU is simply a scofflaw, and is saying that it is above the law.  Perhaps this attitude is contagious.  Second, the EU is taking the same position it took in 1996 in the Hormones case:  it is willing to pay the price of disobedience.  This latter position is not necessarily disloyal to WTO law, but implies the attitude that "as long as you pay, you can go on as you are."  (The material in quotes is what Pascal Lamy once said about WTO countermeasures.)  It is consistent with the idea of efficient breach, although given the disarray in the law of WTO remedies, there can be no assurance that any particular breach/countermeasure combination is efficient.  I think the better understanding is the second one, while the first one may be temporarily pleasing to the EU's constituencies.  What is troubling about the statement is the apparent willingness to talk down the WTO for short term internal political gain.