Taking the European Union at its word that the biotech ban is about to end, seed companies are testing the waters by submitting new applications for genetically modified corn, cotton, canola and other plants

But prospects are murky. Even as some EU countries signal the 5-year-old moratorium on biotech crops could be over in a matter of months, others are raising new objections. New EU legislation that took effect in October was intended to end the ban by strengthening decade-old rules on testing and licensing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as crops or ingredients. Since January the new procedure has attracted 18 applications, the first of which are expected to reach the decision stage this autumn. EU environment ministers were to be briefed on the new applications Tuesday. ``We understand the member states do see now a clear road map forward ... (and) we're optimistic and positive on that,'' said Lutz Knabe, spokesman for French-based Bayer CropScience, which has five biotech products in the pipeline. But U.S.-based Monsanto, whose Roundup Ready corn, canola rapeseed and other products account for 10 of the new applications, is not getting hopes up too high. With environmental and health risks covered by the new rules, food-loving Italy has been pushing for an examination of potential economic risks, especially to organic farmers. It also is asking whether EU rules are needed to guard against contamination from one field to another. Similar opposition exists in France, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg and Denmark, where parliament in January demanded a study on whether the country could go completely GMO-free. The EU head office, which wants the ban lifted, argues that economic interests would not be enough to legally block a farmer who wanted to plant an approved biotech crop from doing so. Given that growing conditions differ widely across Europe, the report, to be adopted Wednesday, recommends leaving it up to EU governments to adopt their own rules for ensuring biotech, conventional and organic farms can coexist.