The EU Commission has passed the controversial licensing proposals for a type of genetically modified maize, engineered to produce an insecticidal toxin and resist herbicide applications, on to the Council of Ministers, seeking the approval of the maize for cultivation in the bloc.

The surprisingly swift process is the result of a ruling from 26th September by the General Court of the European Union. The Court ruled that the EU Commission had been responsible for holding up the application for Dow Pioneer's TC1507 maize, which was first submitted in 2001. The maize is already licensed in some regions outside of the EU, where it is sold as Herculex.

If the Council fails to reach a definite decision on the licensing application, the Commission will be obliged to follow the guidance of its advisors in the European Food Safety Authority, who said the maize poses no threat to the environment. If approved by the EU executive, the maize would only be the second GM crop to be licensed in the EU in 15 years.

Earlier in the year, health Commissioner Tonio Borg said that no new licenses were likely to be granted for GM crops until at least 2015, due to continued stalemate between member states. GM crops are banned in eight of the 28 member states, though the legality of these restrictions has been challenged by European courts.

The Commission acknowledged on Wednesday that, "This 2001 request [on TC1507] falls under the 'old' pre-Lisbon comitology procedure, which means that if the Council is not able to muster a qualified majority, either for or against the authorisation, then the Commission is obliged by law to grant the authorisation."

On a related subject, the debate over Pioneer's controversial maize has spurred the Commission to revive another deadlocked process - the so-called 'cultivation proposal', which would allow EU members to restrict or prohibit cultivation of GM crops on a state-by-state basis. These 'compromise' measures have proven unpopular, and failed to secure majority support on several occasions, most recently under the Danish presidency of the EU in 2012.

Commenting on Wednesday, Health Commissioner Borg said he was "Duty bound to comply with the ruling of the Court" and added, "In the coming months, ministers will be invited to take a position on this authorisation request. The Court's decision on maize 1507 confirms the urgency of reconciling strict and predictable European authorisation rules for GMO cultivation, with fair consideration of national contexts."

Although EFSA has given its approval to TC1507 several times already, environmentalists claim the Authority's risk assessment procedure is flawed and maintain that the maize could have impacts on insect pollinators including butterflies and moths.

Reacting to the Commission's decision, José Bové, vice chair of the European Parliament's agriculture committee and a Green MEP said, "It is scandalous that the Commission is trying to bulldoze through the authorisation of this GM maize crop in spite of the massive opposition of EU citizens, as well as member state governments, to GMOs. The risks of this maize have not been properly assessed, with major gaps in safety testing. The Commission is ignoring very real concerns about the harmful impacts of GM maize 1507 on butterflies, which are essential pollinators, as well as the risks of cross-contamination of conventional and organic crops."

He continued, "The Commission should be heeding the concerns of EU consumers, farmers and civil society instead of aggressively pushing the agenda of biotech corporations to foist GMOs onto the EU market and into our fields. EU environment ministers should naturally reject this proposal when they consider it."

UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has revealed on a number of occasions that he is an avid supporter of GM crops, though assertions made by the Secretary of State concerning the crops, particularly GM golden rice, have been questioned and even criticised as misleading by scientists and members of his own party.