“This is a victory for the environment, farmers and consumers, and a major embarrassment for the Commission. For the fourth time, EU governments have rejected a Commission proposal to lift national bans on GM crops. What part of 'no' does the Commission not understand?” said Marco Contiero, Greenpeace EU GMO policy director.

Austrian and Hungarian scientific authorities have recently supplied new evidence supporting their national bans showing that MON810 maize - the only GMO currently cultivated in the EU - is likely to have harmful environmental effects.

“The protection of the environment and public health should always come before the financial interests of a handful of agro-chemical companies,” said Contiero.