A cornfield
in Godewaersvelde, northern France, on September 28, 2012
(AFP/File, Philippe
Huguen)
|
PARIS,
France — France's top administrative court on Thursday threw out a government
ban on US agro-chemicals giant Monsanto from growing a type of genetically
modified corn.
A
moratorium on MON810 corn -- one of just two types of genetically altered food
crops whose cultivation is approved by the European Union -- has been in place
in France since March 2012.
The Council
of State court noted in a statement that the moratorium had little legal basis.
It pointed
out that EU regulations say such a ban "can only be taken by a member
state in case of an emergency or if a situation poses a major risk" to the
health of people or animals, or to the environment.
But
France's Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll countered that the government
"is not in favour of GM, especially MON810 which is a corn that is
resistant to herbicides."
He hinted
earlier that the government would take other legal actions if the ban were
lifted, and later announced that authorities would take a fresh decision on
whether or not to get rid of MON810 before farmers next sow seeds from April
2014.
Brussels
cleared MON810 in 1998 for 10 years and Monsanto submitted a request in 2007
for it to be extended but the process has been effectively frozen since then.
In the
absence of a formal decision on the renewal request, MON810 is still grown on a
small scale, notably in Spain and Portugal whose governments have been more
welcoming than other member states.
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