Monsanto’s EU bid to approve new GM crops on the continent has been dropped, it was reported.
The move comes amid concerns shared by many Europeans over the safety of the crops.
Monsanto President and Managing Director for Europe Jose Manuel Madero told Reuters that the company will scrap approval requests filed in the European Union within the next few months.
It would affect growing GM corn, one sugar beet, and one type of soybean, Madero said.
“People have said we are exiting the GMO business in Europe, but we don’t really have a business,” he clarified. He said that the company would focus on growing its seed business in Europe.
“Conventional seeds is the area where we are focusing at this time in Europe, and we are funding the business in a way that we haven’t done for more than 15 years,” he told the news agency.
A company source told the Daily Telegraph that the EU has not approved a new GM crop to cultivate since 1998.
The bloc has “currently has suspended the progression of cultivation files towards decisions for political reasons,” the source said, and added: “As the EU today is effectively a conventional seed market we have been progressively de-emphasising cultivation of biotech crops in Europe.”
The source continued: “Amongst other things, this means we are no longer seeking approval to commercialize biotech seeds in the EU. We intend to withdraw pending regulatory applications for commercial cultivation of new biotech crops in the EU.”
