Germany's federal and state governments will in future decide together whether to ban the cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are allowed in the European Union, a draft law showed, ending a long dispute.

An EU law in March 2015 cleared the way for the approval of new GMO crops after years of deadlock. But it also gave individual countries the right to ban GMO crops even after they have been approved as safe by the European Commission.

In Sept. 2015, Germany told the EU it would not permit the cultivation of GMO crops but there has been disagreement whether this ban should be undertaken by federal or state authorities.