Member states should be allowed to ban GMOs on environmental as well as moral grounds, MEPs agreed this week, defying legislative proposals made by the European Commission and blowing open the scope for national opt-outs. Brussels had originally proposed to maintain the EU-wide authorisation system for biotech cultivation but with limited opt-outs based on moral/ethical grounds. However, Parliament this week called for these grounds to be extended to cross-contamination of crops, their resistance topesticides and possible threats to biodiversity. The possibility of cross-contamination between GM and conventional/organic crops requires additional flexibilities for member states, MEPs urged, calling for factors such as town planning and territorial balance to be added to the list of potential grounds for opting out.
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