The European Parliament has opposed plans to allow member states to restrict sales of genetically modified (GM) crops and materials within their territories at a plenary session in Strasbourg.

The decision comes after the EU Parliament’s Agriculture and Environment Committees voted in September and October, respectively, to oppose the measures. The planned change was devised by the EU Commission to bring legislation on sales of GM crops into line with new rules on crop planting. If passed, the measures would have allowed member state governments to ban or restrict sales of GM organisms once they had been approved for import into the EU, in a similar manner to new rules governing cultivation of GM crops.

MEPs expressed concerns that such a law might prove unworkable or that it could lead to the reintroduction of border checks between pro- and anti-GMO countries. They call on the Commission to table a new proposal.

EU rapporteur and Sardinian MEP Giovanni La Via  said, “Today’s vote gave a clear signal to the European Commission. This proposal could turn on its head what has been achieved with the single market and the customs union.”

LaVia’s recommendation to reject the proposal was approved by 577 votes to 75, with 38 abstentions. “There was no evaluation of the potential consequences or of other available options. I believe that this proposal could have negative consequences for agriculture in the EU, which is heavily dependent on protein supplies from GMO sources. It could also have indirect negative effects on imports. Finally, there are concerns over whether this proposal could even be implemented, because there are no border controls in the EU”, he added.

EU Greens welcomed the rejection on Wednesday, though for different reasons. Bart Staes, food safety spokesperson for the Greens, called the proposals “Fundamentally flawed”. He said, "There is definitely a need to reform the EU's GMO authorisation process: we cannot persist with the current situation by which authorisations proceed in spite of flawed risk assessments and the consistent opposition of a majority of EU governments and, importantly, a clear majority of EU citizens.

“The proposal rejected by MEPs today would have instead facilitated EU GMO authorisations by allowing member states to opt out but without legal certainty for doing so. It also failed to address the flawed risk assessment process, which is at the heart of the problem. The Commission must now come forward with a real reform that addresses these problems, as President Juncker committed to doing.”

However, although the proposal was rejected by the full EU Parliament, EU Health and Food safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis has said that the Commission will not withdraw the legislative proposal, so it will now be discussed by member state ministers in the European Council.