By Daisy Ayliffe - 11th January 2006
The EU ordered Greece to lift its ban on GMO maize seeds as another battle over the controversial technology looms.
The Greek government banned seeds made by US biotech giant Monsanto in April last year because they were thought to present a health risk.
But on Tuesday the EU executive ruled that Greece had not supplied the necessary information to support its case for a ban.
The commission’s line received the support of industry who have long demanded that Greece be brought to order over the issue.
"Neither the Greek government nor any of the authorities have provided any validated scientific evidence to support either a ban or withholding approval to use these products in food,” EuropaBio insist.
But Greece has consistently voted against proposals for new GMO authorizations in the EU, along with a majority of EU member states.
Because there was no qualified majority amongst member states in the council, the matter was then transferred back to the commission for the final decision.
The EU executive subsequently decided to give the MON 810 seeds the green light.
This move has enraged environmental groups.
"By overruling the Greek government's attempt to protect its fields from contamination by this GM maize, the commission is showing its contempt for the majority of EU citizens and 165 regions that say they do not want GMOs," Greenpeace said in a statement on Wednesday.
Greek farmers have pledged to appeal the decision.
The farmers’ union GESASE says it will write to the country’s agriculture minister urging him to file an appeal at the European Court of Justice.
"This will be a first-class opportunity for the government which says it opposes genetically modified products to prove it," a GESASE spokesman told reporters.
But the farmers know the deck is stacked against them - last year an EU court prohibited the region of Upper Austria from banning GMO crops.
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