The move follows the failure of the Member States to endorse the proposal during a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH).

The Commission presented the proposal to SCoFCAH for the authorisation of GM soybean MON89788, also known as "RoundupReady2" soybean, for import and processing and food and feed uses.

The Commission said the authorisation of this GM soybean is important as it will help prevent shortages in supply of the EU livestock industry with soybean imports from third countries.

However the EU states returned no definitive opinion on the proposal during the SCoFCAH meeting.

The Commission tabled the proposal following an application submitted by the American food biotechnology company Monsanto and a favourable scientific assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which addressed all safety concerns.

EFSA concluded that there is no risk to human or animal health or to the environment.

As a result of today's inconclusive vote, the Commission will now transmit the dossier to the Council for a decision.

If the Council does not reach a position within three months, the proposal will be sent back to the Commission for final adoption.

Further Reading

-

You can view more on the EU position on biotechnology by clicking here.