The French government has been fined EUR10m (US$12.9m) by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to implement EU legislation allowing the circulation of screened genetically modified food in its territory.

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Judges agreed with the European Commission that Paris should be punished for failing to enact a 2002 directive on the release of GM organisms until this year.


The court said: “The breach [in EU law] is serious, especially in the light of its impact on the public and private interests involved”.


The directive allows the pan-EU sale of GM foods screened by the European Food Safety Authority and approved by the Commission.

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