EU: The European Commission will authorise the sale of a new type of genetically-modified sweetcorn by early June, ending a five-year ban on the sale of genetically-modified food in the EU.
The Food Safety Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, said sale of the sweetcorn, called Bt-11, would be approved as soon as possible.
"It is difficult to predict exactly, but I would imagine this will be before the Commission in late May or early June. I don't expect any opposition."
Mr Byrne was speaking in Luxembourg after EU agriculture ministers failed to agree on whether to approve the sweetcorn, which is marketed by the Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta.
Under EU rules, the ministers' failure to agree means that it is now for the Commission to decide if the product should be authorised.
If the Commission approves the sweetcorn, it will become the first genetically-modified product to be authorised for sale in the EU since 1998 when the Commission approved the marketing of a genetically-modified carnation.
Greenpeace condemned the ministers' failure to block the sweetcorn's authorisation, accusing them of ignoring the wishes of European citizens.
"There may not be a qualified majority of ministers to reject Bt-11 maize, but there is a qualified majority of the public who do not want GE food on their plates or in the environment.
"It is shameful that the government ministers chose to promote corporate interests at the expense of consumers and the environment, and against the will of their own citizens," the organisation said in a statement.
"The Commission is politically isolated. They don't have the support of the population, which is overwhelmingly against GM food, and they lack the support of a majority of member-states," said Friends of the Earth spokesman Mr Geert Ritsema.
Mr Byrne insisted that new EU rules on genetically-modified organisms ensured that all foods to be authorised would be safe, and that consumers would be told if any product contains GM ingredients.
Meanwhile agriculture ministers were meeting late into the night in an effort to agree new conditions for the transport of animals across Europe.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, who was chairing the meeting, said he would seek approval for rules that improved the conditions under which animals would be transported but would increase the permissible duration of such journeys.
"The Presidency is working very hard to achieve an agreement. That agreement will no doubt improve the welfare of animals in transport," he said.