|
EU – GM MAIZE REMAINS IN PIPELINE
EU ministers fail to agree on latest GMO approval
5 December, 2005 – Source: Reuters
BRUSSELS -- Diplomats and officials were cited as saying that EU environment ministers failed again to reach consensus on approving imports of a GMO maize type.
The requested use for the maize, a hybrid strain engineered by US biotech giant Monsanto was for processing into food and animal feed, not for cultivation.
An EU official was quoted as telling Reuters that, "There was no qualified majority for or against, as always. It now goes back to the (European) Commission for approval."
The rubberstamp authorisation usually takes place in a few weeks, but can take longer. The ministers' failure to agree means that the Commission, the EU executive, gains the power to authorise imports of the maize into EU markets - the approval method that has been used in the EU five times since May 2004 to approve new GMO products.
|
