May 23, 2012
EU may order France to remove GMO corn ban
After EU science experts said there was no justification for growing genetically modified (GM) corn, the EU was considering ordering France to lift its ban on growing a strain of GM corn, the EU''s executive said on Tuesday (May 22).
In March France re-imposed a ban on Monsanto''s MON810 corn, an insect-resistant variety to protect chiefly against the European corn borer, after a previous prohibition was annulled by the country''s top court late last year.
An opinion issued by the European food safety watchdog (EFSA) on Monday (May 21) concluded that France had offered no new scientific evidence to justify the ban. The European Commission said EFSA''s opinion confirmed its own initial assessment.
"From a purely legal point of view, the Commission could formally ask France to lift the measure, but we are currently reflecting on what will be the follow-up to EFSA''s opinion," a spokesman for EU health and consumer chief John Dalli said.
The Commission is expected to wait for France''s new Socialist government to reveal its position on the ban, which was imposed by the previous administration, before taking a final decision. That is unlikely before French parliamentary elections in June.
The timing of the French ban in March has ensured grain farmers will not be able to sow MON810 corn for the current growing season, the Commission spokesman added.
Monsanto was not immediately available to comment.