Romania joins EU members in GM crop ban

Romania has said it will join six other member states in banning the only EU-approved genetically modified (GM) crop. Romanian environment minister Attila Korodi has called for a halt on planting MON810, a corn produced by US biotech company Monsanto, saying that the country's biosecurity committee would look at possibly implementing a ban on 15 April. "In the event that an evaluation reveals real risks to the environment and to health, we have decided to launch an initiative to prohibit the MON810 crop," Korodi told French news agency AFP. The issue of GM crops remains a divisive one, both among member states and within EU institutions. The announcement from Romania came just as the EU authorised the import of GA21, a GM maize type marketed by Swiss agrochemicals company Syngenta. The crop can now be sold across the region for the next 10 years. Raoul Bhambral of Friends of the Earth Europe said that the announcement was a very positive step forward for Romania's farmers and the environment. "With growing evidence of the harmful effects of GM maize on the environment and health, the Romanian government has plenty of reasons to ban MON810, but it must act very quickly since the sowing season for maize is closing in. "We hope that this step adds to the political pressure now building against growing these crops across Europe," he told theparliament.com. "GM crops have led to an increase in pesticide use wherever they are grown so this ban is saving Romanian farmers from the costs and associated health risks of using more and more chemicals," he added.

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