Bulgaria Invokes Safeguard Clause on GMO Maize Farming
The Bulgarian government Wednesday banned the farming of genetically modified Monsanto maize, MON 810, on its territory, the Government Information Service said.
The ban is imposed on grounds of the principle of preventive action set down in Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and the Genetically Modified Organisms Act. This gaurantees safeguarding the Bulgarian agriculture and environment from the opportunity of building resistance to bt-protein target and non-target flora and fauna, and its accumulation in soil ecosystems.
The ban is imposed in another six EU member-states. For the first time Bulgaria resorted to the option of invoking a safeguard clause on genetically modified Monsanto maize, MON 810. It is permitted in the EU but invoking such a clause is at the discretion of member-states, Agriculture and Food Minister Miroslav Naydenov said Wednesday before the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers, BTA wrote.