The European Commission lost for the second time a pivotal vote in the Council of Ministers on its GMO approvals. A qualified (two third) majority rejected its demand to waive an Austrian ban on Monsantos GM maize "Mon810". In fact all member states except the UK, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Netherlands voted against the proposal. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace welcomed the decision. As a WTO panel had recently ruled that the Austrian ban was actually illegal, the member states decision is also a clear comment on the EU Commission's decision not to appeal this verdict.