EU Wants To Keep Europe GMO Free

The European Union (EU) said it wants to keep Europe free of genetically modified crops as ministers and other officials from 15 EU and Western Balkans gathered for an international conference in Slovenia.

“Most of the EU sees its future free of GMO,” Slovenian Agriculture, Forestry and Food Minister Dejan Zidan told the press at the conference on Friday on the eve of Agra, the region’s biggest agriculture and food fair due to be held on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

The conference, which was organised together with Hungary, also featured Luxembourg’s Fernand Etgen, the current president of the EU’s Agriculture Council, and focussed on a recently adopted directive which allows EU countries to limit or prohibit the growing of genetically modified plants.

Ljubljana, 15 January (STA) - Slovenia plans to tighten already restrictive rules on the growing of genetically modified organisms after the European Parliament recently allowed member states to ban crops even if they are permitted at EU level, suggest statements by the farm minister.

Slovenian Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Janez Podobnik pledged Slovenia's support to Bulgaria in securing EU environment funds, as he met his Bulgarian host and counterpart Djevdet Chakurov in Sofia on Friday, 17 November. [...] The pair also concluded that both countries are among more conservative regarding genetically modified organisms, Podobnik said.