Bulgaria opts out of growing genetically modified crops

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria has told the European Union it will ban the cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under EU rules that allow member states to opt out of GMO cultivation, the agriculture ministry said in a statement on Thursday. "The Agriculture Ministry upholds its position that Bulgaria should be free from cultivating GMO crops," the ministry said. An EU law approved in March cleared the way for new GMO crops to be approved after years of deadlock. But the law also gave individual countries the right to ban GMO crops even after they have been approved as safe by the European Commission. The ministry has sent 10 letters to the EU with which it effectively bans the cultivation of different types of GMO corn and soy-beans. On Wednesday, Germany sent a similar letter to Brussels. (Reporting By Tsvetelia Tsolova; editing by Matthias Williams)