Commission rebuffs legal opinion on GM plan

The European Commission has rejected an opinion issued by the Council of Ministers earlier this month questioning the legality of a proposal to allow individual countries to impose their own bans on genetically modified (GM) crops.

The opinion said the proposal had an "invalid legal basis", raising "strong doubts" over whether national bans would be compatible with internal market and World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Giving member states the power to ban GM crops can only be done if it improves the functioning of the EU market, it states.