Brussels, 06/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Cultivation of genetically modified maize MON 810 by Monsanto and of all other varieties of genetically modified maize has been banned outright in France.
On Monday 5 May, the Council of State dismissed a request by French farmers growing MON 810 imported from Spain. They had asked for the suspension of the government decision of 14 April banning the cultivation of this genetically modified maize on French soil. Thus the Council of State confirmed the ruling by the Department of Agriculture. On the same day, the French parliament definitively adopted the law under which “the cultivation of genetically modified maize varieties is banned on French soil”.
Ségolène Royal, the minister for the environment, sustainable development and energy, and Stéphane Le Foll, the minister for agriculture, agri-foods and forestry both welcomed the decision made by the Council of State and the vote for the draft law already been adopted by the National Assembly to definitively ban the cultivation of all varieties of genetically modified maize.
This will also apply to the TC 107 maize by Pioneer-Dupont, which the European Commission decided to authorise in EU as it is allowed to do under EU legislation, despite the political opposition of 19 of the 28 member states (see EUROPE 11022).
The European Commission proposal of July 2010 aiming to amend EU legislation (draft regulation amending Directive 2001/18/EC) and allow member states to restrict or ban GMO crops on their land despite their being authorised at European level. This proposal is still on the Council of the EU's with a view to obtaining political agreement in June (see EUROPE 11031). It includes the possibility of an “opt out” sought by member states for reasons unrelated to environmental or health issues, given that the GMO authorisation procedure in the EU is based on and will continue to be based on assessment by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) of GMO risks to health and the environment.
MON 810 maize has been allowed in the EU since 1998 and is mainly grown in Spain (116,306 hectares in 2012), Portugal (9,278 hectares), the Czech Republic (3,052 hectares), Romania (217 hectares) and Slovakia (189 hectares). BASF's genetically modified Amflora potato starch was authorised for cultivation and industrial processing in the EU but has not been cultivated here since 2011 (AN)