The European Commission is obliged to cancel the market approval for all genetically engineered Bt-crops according to an independent legal opinion prepared for Greenpeace. Allowing the Bt maize crops to be grown commercially while halting the approval process for similar new crops is a breach of EU law.
"The Commission froze the approval of new Bt-maize but turns a blind eye to similar crops already in the fields," said Greenpeace political advisor Thomas Schweiger. "It may be embarrassing to admit past mistakes but these Bt-crops need to be taken out of the market immediately, before butterfly caterpillars are exposed to toxic Bt-pollen."
