European lawmakers vote to give EU member states power to block genetically modified crops

European lawmakers have voted to give EU member states the power to ban cultivation of genetically modified crops on their territory even if they have been approved by the 28-nation bloc.

Tuesday's vote on genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, must still be converted into EU-wide law by the bloc's executive, the European Commission and national governments.

Gilles Pargneaux, a member of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, says the vote "brings more legal certainty to member states willing to limit or ban GMO cultivation in their territory."

Environmentalists welcomed the vote by the parliament's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee.