More EU states wary on GMO maize

By Jeremy Smith

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Several influential EU states have dug in their heels on whether their farmers may grow one of Europe's oldest genetically modified (GMO) crops, raising the stakes in the EU's long-running stalemate over biotech policy.

The crop is a modified maize variety known as MON 810, marketed by leading U.S. biotech seeds company Monsanto.

Also known by its commercial name YieldGard, the maize type is designed to resist the European corn borer, a pest that attacks maize stalks and thrives in warmer climates in southern EU countries such as Italy and Spain.

While Monsanto says the protein contained in its maize has selective toxicity but is harmless to humans, fish and wildlife, an increasing number of the EU's 27 countries are unconvinced.

National GMO bans are the only part of Europe's biotech debate where EU countries can agree, since they see attempts by Brussels to order a government to lift its ban as an attack on national sovereignty. So, unusually, they tend to band together.

The European Commission has tried this on three occasions in the past two years and got a stinging rebuff on each occasion.

In the past few weeks, two EU agricultural powerhouse countries -- France and Germany -- entered the fray. Not only do they wield huge clout under the bloc's weighted voting system for decision-making, they also grow vast amounts of cereals.

First, Germany's government said maize produced from MON 810 seeds could only be sold if there was an accompanying monitoring plan to research its effects on the environment: a restriction that farmers say is tantamount to a growing ban.