Germany to Abstain in EU Vote on DuPont GMO Maize

Germany has indicated it will abstain in a vote of the EU Council - scheduled for February 11 - on cultivation of a new type of insect-resistant, genetically modified maize developed by DuPont and the seeds treatment company Pioneer.

If the maize branded as Pioneer 1507 is approved it would end Monsanto's monopoly in Europe's small market for GMO crops grown commercially. The only currently registered product is Monsanto's insect-resistant maize, MON 810, which is grown in Spain.

In December 2013, the EU's General Court overturned on procedural grounds a 2010 decision by the European Commission authorizing sales of BASF's genetically modified potato, Amflora. The Commission approved the Pioneer DuPont product in November 2013.

Explaining the abstention plans, a German government spokesman said the country's new grand coalition of Christian and Social Democrats had failed to agree on a vote.

While some said a German abstention could pave the way for the EU's approval, the economics ministry said it believed the maize would be approved with or without Germany. A hung vote could place the decision in the Commission's hands. France is diametrically opposed to the approval, while the UK is in favour.

In an expert opinion, the European Food Safety agency EFSA said in 2005 that the variety 1507 was as safe as non-genetically modified maize. Greenpeace, however, said the EFSA study had flaws.
"The approval of this crop would be utterly irresponsible. The EU's own safety testing has shown that it is harmful to butterflies and moths and that there are still significant gaps in safety testing," a spokesman for Greenpeace in Brussels, told news agencies.

In January, some members of the European Parliament presented a resolution calling for the Commission not to allow the genetically modified maize.