* Meeting reveals "huge opposition" to plans by EU states

* GM crop plans criticised by EU food and farm industries

By Charlie Dunmore

BRUSSELS, July 29 (Reuters) - European Union governments
have signalled their strong opposition to proposals allowing
member states to decide whether to grow or ban genetically
modified (GM) crops, a Belgian EU presidency source said on
Thursday.

The bloc's executive, the European Commission, tabled
proposals earlier this month giving governments the freedom to
choose whether or not to grow GM crops. To pass, the plans must
first be approved by EU governments and lawmakers.

The move was seen as an attempt by the Commission to break a
longstanding deadlock in EU GM approvals, which has seen just
two products authorised for cultivation in Europe, restricting
commercial plantings to less than 100,000 hectares.

Several EU governments have already criticised the
proposals, and last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel
attacked the plans as a first step towards dismantling the
bloc's single market.

A first meeting of EU government officials to discuss the
proposals in Brussels on Tuesday confirmed the widespread
opposition to the plans.

"There is huge opposition against the proposals by member
states, for several different reasons," the Belgian presidency
source told Reuters.

Some officials agreed with Merkel's view that the proposals
would undermine the bloc's internal market, and others said they
would leave the EU and its member states open to challenges in
the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a second EU source in the
meeting said.

On Wednesday, Washington's most senior trade official said
the proposals were unlikely to conform with "internationally
accepted scientific standards" on GM crops, suggesting that the
U.S. could be prepared to challenge them if adopted by the EU.

FOOD CHAIN FEARS

Last week, European industry associations representing the
entire food chain expressed their "deep concern" at the
Commission's proposals in a letter sent to the Belgian
presidency, the Commission and EU lawmakers.

"The new approach on GM cultivation sets a dangerous legal
precedent, jeopardizing the internal market for authorised
products," the letter seen by Reuters said.

Letting member states decide on GM crops will create new
legal and commercial risks for operators, added the letter,
which was signed by EU farm group Copa-Cogeca, food and drink
industry confederation CIAA, and biotech lobby EuropaBio, among
others.

EU government ambassadors will meet in Brussels to discuss
the proposals on September 3, when they are expected to create a
special working group of member state environment and
agriculture experts to lead talks on the plans.

EU agriculture ministers will then debate the proposals in
Brussels at the end of September, followed by environment
ministers meeting in Luxembourg in mid-October.
(Editing by James Jukwey)