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The European Commission lost for the second time a pivotal vote in the Council of Ministers on its GMO approvals. A qualified (two third) majority rejected its demand to waive an Austrian ban on Monsantos GM maize "Mon810". In fact all member states except the UK, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Netherlands voted against the proposal. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace welcomed the decision. As a WTO panel had recently ruled that the Austrian ban was actually illegal, the member states decision is also a clear comment on the EU Commission's decision not to appeal this verdict.

Austria may escape another order to lift its two bans on genetically modified maize varieties as EU ministers prepare to deliver a second rebuff to the European Commission, officials said on Thursday. To force Austria to lift its bans, the Commission will need to secure a weighted majority of EU ministers in favour of its draft orders. There can also be a weighted majority against, when the Commission would withdraw the orders and reconsider. While the positions of nearly all the 25 countries are already known, three states are wavering - Germany, Portugal and Spain.

France may face a fine of more than 38 million euros (US$50.3 million) from Europe's top court for its failure to update national laws on genetically modified (GMO) crops and foods, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The Commission, the EU executive, has often warned France to comply with EU law and integrate into its national statute book an EU directive on the environmental release of GMOs. Apart from the lump sum fine, the Commission also asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to order Paris to pay 366,744 euros a day until French law adequately reflected the EU directive, it said in a statement.

Irish MEPs Liam Aylward (FF), Kathy Sinnott (Independent) and Marian Harkin (Independent) have strongly criticised a controversial draft resolution on biotechnology and genetically modified crops to be voted on soon by the European Parliament.

EU environment experts failed today to agree on whether to authorise growing of a genetically modified potatoe. The EU regulatory committee has not reached a qualified majority. The decision therefore passes to the Council of Ministers.

Britain's farm and environment ministry said on Friday it had given the go-ahead for research trials on disease resistant genetically modified potatoes.

German chemicals group BASF will be allowed to hold trials on two sites in England, starting next year. The GMO potatoes, which have been developed to be resistant to potato blight, will not be used for food or animal feed.

Russia agreed to maintain an interim approval and registration system for products of modern biotechnology that is science-based, transparent, predictable and consistent with the WTO Agreement.

Further Russia agreed to register products covered by all pending applications that have received a favorable science-based risk assessment by November 15, 2006. Russia and the United States agreed to hold annual consultations on the status of applications for re-registration of products whose registrations have expired during that year and to establish an ongoing bilateral consultative mechanism to discuss issues of regulatory development in the area of agricultural biotechnology.

"Science and Society – the Frontier of the Invisible", is an annual international congress that provides an opportunity for an exchange between society, research and the most advanced knowledge in the biotechnology sector. In this, its third year, the congress will address the topic of biotechnological innovation from three points of view: certification of scientific information and the institutional use of that information, genetic engineering as the last step in the industrialization of agriculture, and the political/social governance of biotechnology.

The congress takes place in Rome between 30 November and 2 December 2006.

Hungary is set to impose strict rules on genetically modified crops that would mostly block their cultivation even if the EU overturns the country's GMO ban. The law, supported by the opposition as well as government parties, is expected to be passed on Monday in case the European Union forces Hungary to abandon its complete ban. "This is Europe's, perhaps the world's, strictest GMO law," Agriculture Minister Jozsef Graf said.

After three weeks of intensive campaigning against imports of genetically engineered food (GE) and feed coming into Russia, Greenpeace received an announcement from two major Russian food and feed importers that they have adopted a policy of only using non GE products. Sodruzhestvo, the biggest soya importer in Russia, which supplies 70% of all soya used in the Russian food and feed industry, has stated that it will turn its new factory currently under construction in Kaliningrad into a GE free zone. The new oil-extraction and feed-processing plant will not only produce GE free soya oils and feeds, but also GE free maize and GE free oilseed rape products. Following the move by Sodruzhestvo the feed producer Rybflotprom, which controls 7 % of the Russian feed market and is 80 % owned by the French company Provimi, also announced it has adopted a GE free policy for all its products.