Plaid MEP Jill Evans has congratulated the EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas in his ground breaking attempts to block new types of GM maize being grown in Europe.

Independent reports have claimed that the GMO crops involved have been shown in tests to be harmful to plant and animal life.

The Plaid Cymru MEP is a prominent campaigner against GMOs. Speaking from Brussels she said:

"I welcome this move by the Commissioner to refuse permission for these two GMO crops. There are widespread concerns that they would cause irreversible harm. Studies have shown that the insecticide in the plants harms butterflies and poisons streams.

"We've had an effective ban on growing new GM crops in Europe since 1998 but the US and UK governments and rich agriculture companies want to see this overturned. Public opinion is massively opposed to GMOs - the consumer doesn't want GM contamination.

"Studies into these two types of maize said that they pose an unacceptable level of risk. A similar maize crop has already been banned in Austria, Hungary and Poland and suspended in France. The risk of these crops is simply too great."