The European Commission inscribed on Wednesday the first GM seed varieties in the Common EU Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species. 17 varieties containing Monsantos Mon 810 insect resistance GM-construct, which had until now only been listed in the national seed catalogues of Spain and France, can now be sold across the entire European Union. Mon 810 had been approved under GM legislation in 1998 and was planted in Spain. According to the EU Seed regulations, individual member states can now apply to exempt their territories from this general EU approval.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=6182990">Reuters</a></p><p><a href="http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/1083&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">EUROPA - Rapid - Press Releases">Commission Press Release in all languages</a>