George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, has asked the European Commission to clarify its plans to give Member States and regional governments the power to permit planting of GM crops, moving away from a common policy across the EU-27.

George Lyon MEPWhile welcoming the Commission's intention, Mr Lyon has tabled questions asking how the plans will work in practice across the single market.

Commenting, Mr Lyon said:

"There are still many questions that the Commission must answer as to how delegating responsibility for GM planting to Member States will work in a single market.

"If different countries allow GM crops to be grown will they be able to be traded or not?

"Creating a two-tier system could cause real confusion and ultimately be to the determent of a technology which I believe is vital to Scottish farming interests.

"GM technology has a role to play in making food production more economically and environmentally sustainable in the future, and the Commission must keep this in mind when coming to its decision."