The paper analyses recent attempts to devolve powers back to the national level in the area of GMO regulation. In specific, it looks at the proposal for introduction of an opt-out clause which would allow member states to decide for themselves whether to allow the cultivation of GM crops on their territories. The paper argues that while the opt-out clause could provide flexibility and unblock the impasse in decision-making at the EU level, developments so far demonstrate the practical difficulties in rolling powers back to the national level.
