"It is impossible to say (when the ban could be lifted),"  said a European Commission spokeswoman...

"The question of whether or not to lift the ban will be raised once the rules apply," a French diplomat told reporters.
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EU ministers approve GM food and feed label rules

BRUSSELS, July 22 (Reuters) - European Union farm ministers  gave formal approval on Tuesday to plans for the labelling of  all genetically modified food and animal feed, a move aimed at  lifting the bloc's five-year-old de facto ban on most biotech  crops.

 The rules, passed by the European Parliament early this  month, will apply 20 days after their publication in the EU's  official journal. Diplomats said this would be in September.

 But it was still not clear when the moratorium, under  attack by the United States for barring genetically modified (GM) crops from Europe, would be lifted.

 France, one of the original six EU countries that demanded strict EU legislation on labelling and traceability before it could contemplate cultivating new GM varieties, said the issue of lifting the moratorium now had to be addressed.

 "The question of whether or not to lift the ban will be raised once the rules apply," a French diplomat told reporters.

 French Farm Minister Herve Gaymard asked colleagues at the meeting in Brussels to co-ordinate public information campaigns on the controversial technology in advance of such a decision, an EU official said.

 But nobody could set a date even though the United States, joined by Canada, is to launch a trade suit against the EU in  the World Trade Organisation over the ban.

 "It is impossible to say (when the ban could be lifted),"  said a European Commission spokeswoman, adding that authorisations for 20 GM crops to be cultivated in Europe's fields were pending but none were ready for a vote by member states.

 It was a political decision for member states, she said.

 U.S. farmers say the EU's anti-GM stance is costing them $300 million a year in lost exports, mostly of maize.

 EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne  welcomed the decision.

 "Consumers will have a clear choice of products to buy as  GM food will now be clearly labelled," he said in a statement.

 "For the first time, farmers will see labels on GM feed."

 The EU food industry has six months to get to grips with the legislation, under which all products containing more than  0.9 percent of genetically modified organisms will have to be  labelled.