Luxembourg to ban GM maize

Luxembourg is expected to ban the use and sale of GM maize developed by Monsanto, following Austria, France, Greece and Hungary. Marco Contiero, Greenpeace EU GMO policy director, stated that EU ministers called for a rethink in the way GM crops were assessed in Europe. Faced with the Commission’s reluctance to take these concerns into consideration, EU countries had no other choice but to protect their citizens and their environment with national bans. Luxembourg’s ban pleads the EU’s own precautionary principle because of serious scientific concerns on the long-term effects of the MON810 maize.

Greenpeace welcomes the decision by the Luxembourg government and calls for a substantial review of the EU’s authorisation system for GM crops. Under the current EU system, long-term effects of GM crops on human and animal health and the environment are not assessed. In a meeting in December 2008, EU ministers therefore called for a reform. The European Commission has failed in its latest attempt to lift national bans on MON810 in Austria and Hungary, with 22 countries opposing the move in a vote at the Council. 
 

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