Malta votes against GMOs

Three proposals put forward by the European Commission to authorise the placing on the EU market of foods and food ingredients produced from genetically modified organism maize lines were yesterday blocked by member states during the EU Agriculture and...

Three proposals put forward by the European Commission to authorise the placing on the EU market of foods and food ingredients produced from genetically modified organism maize lines were yesterday blocked by member states during the EU Agriculture and Fisheries council meeting in Luxembourg.

Malta was one of the countries voting against the Commission's proposal and no qualified majority was reached. The issue will now be referred back to the Commission.

Ministers aired their differences of opinion on the sale of two types of genetically modified maize, known technically as MON 863 and GA 21, which are produced by the American company Monsanto.

Ministers also disagreed on a proposal to lift the Greek embargo on seeds of maize hybrid MON 810.

Malta normally opposes GMOs due to the lack of scientific evidence of their effect on humans. Its position at the council was similar to that of other member states such as Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg and Austria.

Frans Agius, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment, represented Malta at the council.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.