Scotland Ban GM

Following the EU decision to allow Member States to individually restrict or prohibit the use of EU authorised Genetically Modified crops, Scotland has announced a ban. The Scottish Government are to submit arequest that the country is excluded from any current or future European consents for the cultivation of GM crop. Those Member States who ban crops already approved (or submitted for approval by before April 2015) need to notify the European Commission by the 2nd of October. 

The move is not entirely unexpected. The Scottish Government has been fairly open in its anti-GM stance. Wales is also strongly opposed so perhaps an announcement from the Welsh Government will follow soon. The English Government however has a more relaxed approach. With individual Member States being able to restrict GM use (the theory is) they may be more inclined to allow GM varieties to be approved at the EU level. This could see an increase in the varieties available and increased areas of GM crops .