March 3, 2009
EU will not force member states to farm GM corn
EU nations refused Monday (Mar 2) to force Austria and Hungary to allow the cultivation of US biotech company Monsanto's GM corn, rejecting a European Commission initiative, the Czech EU presidency said.
EU environment ministers voted on a call from the commission to lift provisional bans on growing Monsanto's GM corn, which Austria and Hungary have imposed.
However, only four of the 27 EU nations - the UK, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden - supported the EU executive's bid to force the two member states to lift their ban.
Commission spokeswoman Barbara Helferrich said the move to force Austria and Hungary to drop their bans must continue.
If there is no scientific evidence that the product is dangerous, then there is no reason to ban it, Helferrich said.
