EU court case says EU bloc already approved GMOs

In a ruling last week from the European Court of Justice, it was determined that genetically modified crops cannot be subject to individual nation’s authorization because the European bloc already approved their use and marketing.

"The lack of national rules to ensure so-called co-existence between modified, organic and conventional crops doesn’t entitle an EU member state to prohibit cultivation of biotech crops in a general manner,” the court wrote, according to Bloomberg.

The case brought before the European court was between Pioneer Hi-Bred Italia Srl and Italy’s agriculture ministry.

"The ministry had said it couldn’t consider a Pioneer application to grow genetically modified corn hybrids derived from Monsanto’s MON 810 already included in the EU common catalog of agricultural plant species,” according to the ruling.

In March, France temporarily banned the growing of Monsanto’s MON 810 corn and cited studies it said showed the corn posed a risk to the environment.