Nineteen EU member states have “opted out” of growing genetically modified (GM) crops within all or part of their territories under new EU rules. Commission spokesman Enrico Brivio confirmed to Reuters on Sunday that the Commission had received 19 formal opt-out requests following the expiry of a deadline on October 3. The 19 countries wishing to ban GMOs are: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia, with Belgium asking for a ban in the Wallonia region and the UK for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, leaving only England open to GM crop cultivation. Germany requested a partial opt-out that would allow biotechnology research. The requests are for opt-outs from the approval of Monsanto’s GM maize MON 810, the only crop commercially cultivated in the EU, or for eight pending applications submitted to the EU. Non-governmental organisations welcomed the news: “A clear majority of the EU’s governments are rejecting the Commission’s drive for GM crop approvals,” said Greenpeace’s EU food policy director Franziska Achterberg. “They don’t trust EU safety assessments and are rightly taking action to protect their agriculture and food. The only way to restore trust in the EU system now is for the Commission to hit the pause button on GM crop approvals and to urgently reform safety testing and the approval system.” Under the new EU directive, adopted in March, individual countries can ask biotech companies, whose GM crops have already been authorised for cultivation in the EU or are in the process of authorisation, not to market their crops on their territory. If these companies - such as Dow, Monsanto, Syngenta and Pioneer – refuse these opt-outs requests, member state may ban or restrict the cultivation of the crop for reasons relating to the environment or agricultural policy objectives. (ab)