COMMENT by TraceConsult: The reasons may not be easy to analyze but the facts are obvious: The number of European Union (EU) Member States opposing the EU Commission's liberal course in regards to planting GM corn is growing. Just three weeks after the EU Council of Ministers has rejected the EU Commission's proposal to waive the bans of Austria and Hungary on Monsanto's MON810, Luxembourg has now announced it will join the ranks of these renegade countries.
 
Rumbling noises can already be heard from Berlin signaling similar decisions can be expected from Germany as well.
 
These developments do not bode well for a swift and easy breakthrough of green biotechnology [ie GM crops] in Europe. On the contrary, it signals to policy makers in the food supply chain, from ingredient importers to retailers, to hold their horses - in case they should have been thinking about releasing them lately.
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Luxembourg bans GM corn MON810
Luxemburger Wort, 22 March 2009
http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/letzebuerg/artikel/11755/luxemburg-verbietet-genmais-mon810.php

The Grand Duchy is making its point in the debate about genetically modified organisms (OGM) in agriculture.

During Sunday's action day "Luxemburg and the greater region without biotechnology", Health Minister Mars Di Bartolomeo announced the government's decision to ban the GM corn variety MON810.

Thus Luxembourg joins EU countries Austria, Hungary, France and Greece in resisting an EU Directive. In light of possible risks for environment and humans emanating from the release of genetically modified organisms, Di Bartolomeo and Octavie Modert, State Secretary for Agriculture, argue for the precautionary principle.

In this country, 83 percent of the citizens plus two thirds of all communities reject genetic engineering.