A majority of EU member countries backed a compromise agreement on GMO authorization which maintains an EU-wide approval scheme but allows national cultivation bans.
Under the proposals, drafted by Greece, which holds the rotating EU Council presidency, the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) would conduct assessments of GM crops.
If a particular GM crop was deemed unsafe, no member state could approve its cultivation, explained Tonio Borg, the European commissioner for health. If deemed safe, member states would then be free to cultivate the crop or decide to ban it on grounds other than environment or health concerns, such as urban or rural planning or socio-economic impact, he added. The ministers largely disregarded an alternative proposal by the French.
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