Testbiotech and Biodynamic Federation respond to the EU vote for GMO deregulation
1. Economy beats science: Is the EU ready to deregulate NGT plants? – Testbiotech
2. Council mandate on NGT regulation threatens to strip farmers' and breeders' sovereignty and freedom of choice – Biodynamic Federation
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1. Economy beats science: Is the EU ready to deregulate NGT plants?
Testbiotech, March 14, 2025
https://www.testbiotech.org/en/news/economy-beats-science/
Today, at a meeting of the permanent representatives of the EU member states in Brussels, the Polish Council Presidency has received a majority for its compromise text on the future deregulation of plants obtained from new genetic engineering (NGT). According to the text, the large majority of plants obtained from new genetic engineering (or new genomic techniques, NGT) would neither have to undergo risk assessment, nor be subject to labelling within the food chain and traceability. Their patentability would not be restricted. The deregulation would also apply to nearly all species of wild plants. New developments such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and new possibilities to induce more risky changes of plant characteristics would not be taken into account.
However, it is doubtful whether the proposal will pass in this form, as there is still a lot of criticism from member states. It is also unclear how a common position could be reached in the so-called trilogue between the Parliament on the one hand and the member states and the Commission on the other. The proposals differ significantly in important details. For example, the Parliament is calling for consistent labelling, a ban on patenting and different criteria for the risk classification of plants.
Several EU countries have already announced that they are not prepared to compromise. If the result deviates too far from the original positions, the legislative proposal could still fail in the final votes after the trilogue.
Testbiotech criticises the proposal that has now been adopted as it would lead to a gross negligence in the handling of NGT plants. The text is not sufficiently based on scientific criteria; it disregards the precautionary principle and freedom of choice; and would exacerbate the problem of seed monopolisation. In regard to future developments, the text is not sustainable and is already inadequate to ensure the safe handling of new genetic engineering.
There is also a fundamental problem with the credibility of the EU. All experts who have taken a closer look at the proposed legislation are aware that the criteria introduced here (such as a threshold value of 20 genetic changes, below which no risk assessment would be necessary) are actually pseudoscience. They serve political and economic purposes, but are completely unsuitable for assessing the safety of plants. The EU is thus jeopardising the most important asset in difficult times: its own credibility.
Testbiotech sees the main responsibility with the Commission, which has largely adopted the positions of the industry and appears to be accepting of far-reaching damage to the general public. In addition, the major media have done little to promote an informed public debate. Testbiotech will continue to struggle for a better solution that both proponents and critics can live with.
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2. Council mandate on NGT regulation threatens to strip farmers' and breeders' sovereignty and freedom of choice
Biodynamic Federation, 14 Mar 2025
https://demeter.net/council-mandate-ngts-threatens-farmers-breeders-freedom-of-choice/
Member states' representatives decided to put in jeopardy the sovereignty and freedom of choice of European farmers and breeders by endorsing the Council's negotiating mandate on the new genomic techniques (NGTs) regulation leaving aside essential traceability and labelling requirements.
After a long series of negotiations, member states’ representatives reached an agreement in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) endorsing the revised presidency text of the NGT Regulation put forward on February 19. With this proposal category 1 NGT plants and products would no longer be submitted to the mandatory risk assessment, traceability and labelling requirements, only category 1 NGT seeds would need to be labelled accordingly.
Clear traceability and labelling provisions for all NGTs are paramount to ensure that breeders, farmers, producers and consumers alike can make informed choices. This is particularly essential for the organic sector as both category 1 and 2 NGTs are banned in organic production. The integrity of the organic and GMO-free sector cannot rest solely on the shoulders of the operators. The possibility for Member States to adopt co-existence measures for all NGTs is a step in the right direction but by far not enough. With the reference to the Organic Regulation and the restriction to areas with specific geographical conditions the burden remains unchanged.
The European Parliament already set the right course for the upcoming trilogue negotiations by reinstating essential traceability and labelling requirements for category 1 NGTs and by introducing a full ban on patents for all NGT during last year’s plenary vote. “The Parliament must now uphold its position and enforce the ban on patents for all NGTs to guarantee the freedom of choice and sovereignty of European farmers and breeders. In the current state the regulation fails to protect them adequately from patent claims and therefore risks the further concentration of the seed market in the hands of a few key players”, urges Clara Behr, Head of Policy and Public Relations at the Federation.
Eyes on the trilogue negotiations: only a traceability and labelling system along the entire supply chain, accompanied by enforceable co-existence measures at national level, can ensure a minimum level of safeguard for the European farming and breeding sector.