Minister criticises president's GMO veto

Minister Marek Sawicki said that parliament had been working along the right lines in introducing the so-called “Seed Law”, which did not ban outright the planting of GM seeds.

“In my opinion, the act adopted by parliament was appropriate,” said Sawicki in an interview with the TVP television station.

However, Komorowski, who had been consulting with a number of experts, labelled the bill “rubbish”, declaring that the muddled act also contravened EU stipulations.

Sawicki suggested that the president had been misled by some of the experts and by public opinion, noting that there had been a “false atmosphere of fear” around the bill.

Nevertheless, Komorowski declared yesterday that he was not against GMO per se, but simply hoped that a more focused bill could be created following October's general elections.

Meanwhile, environmentalists have applauded Komorowski's veto. (nh/pg)