December 10, 2008
EU court fines France EUR10 million for violating parts of GMO law
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Tuesday (December 9) fined France EUR10 million for persistently failing to comply with European standards on genetically-modified organisms.
"The unlawful conduct repeatedly engaged in by France in the GMO sector is of such a nature as to require the adoption of a dissuasive measure such as a lump sum payment," the court said in its ruling.
Europe's regulatory body, the European Commission, brought the case against France at the European Court of Justice in 2007, following France's failure to comply with a an earlier ruling in July 2004. The ECJ had in this earlier ruling held that France had not fully implemented the European GMO standards.
