Reuters | November 8, 1999
BRUSSELS - According to this story, Europe's highest court will on Tuesday hear the arguments in a dispute over whether France had the legal right to freeze the authorisation of three strains of genetically modified (GM) maize.
The French Council of State asked the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice to rule whether national authorities may overrule a decision by the European Union to give marketing approval for GM crops.
The hearing comes amid growing confusion about the future of GM crops in the 15 member EU.
France's Council of State in December 1998 was cited as upholding a freeze introduced by the French government on the products - developed by Swiss life sciences company Novartis SA - pending a ruling from the European court.
The case was originally brought by environmental organisations, including Greenpeace, which said that neither potential environmental nor health risks had been properly assessed when the maize was approved in the EU.
The Novartis maize was one of the first GM crops approved in Europe. The authorisation came in controversial circumstances and despite the opposition of a number of governments.
If the court finds that France does have jurisdiction in the case, it will be returned to the Council of State to take a final decision on the complaint, Greenpeace said in a statement.
