Amflora could not be sold within the European Union without approval, and its licence could only be issued after voting at the Council of Ministers of the European Union with a 74 percent threshold of support. Two rounds of voting were held, first by experts in December 2006 and then by the agricultural ministers in July 2007, but both failed to reach the 74 percent threshold. Although the voting was by secret ballot, The New York Times reported that Amflora was supported by the agricultural ministers of Germany and Belgium, and was opposed by the agricultural ministers of Italy, Ireland, and Austria, while the agricultural ministers of France and Bulgaria abstained from voting.[1]