EXTRACT: 'The Commission cannot ignore the strong support for Austria,' one diplomat said.

This is the third time that member states have rejected EU calls for the Austrian ban to be lifted, despite the Commission amending its draft text to exclude the cultivation of the GMO products.

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Austria defeats EU in GMO battle, may yet lose the war
Earth Times, 30 Oct 2007 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/133211.html

Luxembourg - The EU failed Tuesday to persuade enough member states to lift an Austrian ban on two types of genetically modified (GMO) maize, leaving a final decision on the controversial issue to its executive arm, the Commission. EU environment ministers meeting in Luxembourg had been asked by Brussels to drop the ban on the import and processing in Austria of MON810 and T25, two varieties of GMO maize produced by multinationals Monsanto and Bayer.

The ban, in place since the late 1990s, contravenes rules agreed at both EU and World Trade Organization (WTO) level.

But a proposal by the Commission to end Austria's moratorium failed to gain the necessary qualified majority, with heavyweights Germany, France and Italy among the countries backing Vienna on this issue.

'(The vote) means Austrian agriculture will remain GMO-free,' Austrian Environment Minister Josef Proll said.

His optimism may be misplaced, however.

Under EU rules, the Commission can take a final decision on the ban in the light of a lack of consensus among the 27 member states.

While the EU says there is no scientific evidence proving that the varieties of GMO maize banned by Austria pose a health or environmental hazard, officials in Luxembourg said the Commission would nevertheless take the outcome of Tuesday's vote into account.

'The Commission cannot ignore the strong support for Austria,' one diplomat said.

This is the third time that member states have rejected EU calls for the Austrian ban to be lifted, despite the Commission amending its draft text to exclude the cultivation of the GMO products.