Press Release: Commission announces upcoming proposal on choice for Member States to cultivate or not GMOs and approves 5 decisions on GMOs

The European Commission announced on 2 March 2010 its intention to come up with a proposal by the summer to allow more choice to Member States in deciding whether to cultivate GMOs. Under the current legal framework, as decided by the Council and the European Parliament, the Commission adopted two decisions concerning the Genetically Modified Amflora potato: the first authorises the cultivation of Amflora in the EU for industrial use, and the second relates to the use of Amflora's starch by-products as feed.

The European Commission also adopted three decisions on the placing on the market of three GM maize products for food and feed uses but not for cultivation. All five authorisations were subjected to the highest scrutiny, ensuring all concerns regarding the presence of an antibiotic resistance marker gene are fully addressed. The Decision to authorise the cultivation of Amflora is the end of a process which started in Sweden in January 2003 and is based on a considerable volume of sound science.