Council backs plan to allow national GM bans

Legislation that would allow member states to prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms within their borders should be discussed further, national environment ministers have agreed.

The Environment Council met in Brussels on 3 March. The meeting, chaired by the Greek minister for environment, energy and climate change Ioannis Maniatis, considered a draft regulation amending directive that would allow member states to restrict or prohibit the growth of GMOs that have been authorised by the EU, in part or all of their territories.

These changes, which would allow member states to restrict GMO cultivation for reasons other than health and environmental concerns, were originally presented by the European Commission in 2010. However, the Council was unable to reach an agreement on the proposal in their March 2012 meeting.