ENVIRONMENT Minister Nicos Kouyialis yesterday rejected opposition parties’ criticism that the agreement reached by EU ministers on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) opens the door to GM cultivation in Cyprus, and put it down to “misinformation”. On Thursday, the EU Council of Environment Ministers reached a compromise deal on GMOs, giving member states the right to decide whether to allow the cultivation of GMOs in their national territory. Kouyialis, who represented Cyprus at the meeting, welcomed the agreement on the restriction and prohibition of GMO cultivation, noting that after years of intense negotiations “we agreed on the current text, because we want Cyprus to be free of genetically modified organisms”. He clarified that keeping Cyprus a GM-free zone “is a long standing position of this government”.