BRUSSELS – Genetically modified (GM) foods will be introduced more quickly in Europe as a result of a new proposal, some Brussels officials fear.

Over the past 12 years, the European Union has effectively observed a moratorium on the cultivation of new GM crops because of widespread opposition to biotechnology among both the public and some of the EU’s governments.

In a paper published Jul. 13, the Union’s executive, the European Commission, superficially recognized that governments have the right to keep the territories they administer GM-free. But privately officials say that the aim of the initiative is to speed up the approval process for GM foods.

John Dalli, the EU’s commissioner for food safety, said that the proposal would not allow individual governments to ban GM foods on health or environmental grounds as central EU bodies are tasked with assessing any risk that such crops may pose. But the governments would be allowed to cite moral or ethical considerations when imposing unilateral bans.