The European Commission adopted, on 3 November, three decisions authorising genetically modified (GM) maize MON88017, MON89034 and 59122xNK603 for food and feed uses and import and processing. These Monsato varieties received a positive assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and underwent the full authorisation procedure set out in EU legislation. As member states failed to return qualified majority decisions for or against these three authorisations in the 19 October Agriculture Council (see Europolitics3843), the dossiers were sent back to the Commission for a decision. The authorisations are valid for ten years, and any products derived from these three different types of GM maize will be subject to the EU’s strict labelling and traceability rules. Further information is available at ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/index_en.htm