Ecologists warn that deregulation would apply to all plant species – an estimated 300,000 species on Earth

GFÖ – the largest scientific ecological society in Europe – has organised a petition related to the newly planned legislation regarding new GM techniques (NGT) in Europe. The EU will enter "trilogue" discussions between the Commission, Parliament, and Council, to discuss the deregulation of NGT for plants.

The main target of the planned legislation is applications in agriculture. However, the new legislation would apply to all plant species, i.e. an estimated 300,000 species on Earth. There are many concerns about the proposed deregulation that have been voiced by scientists, NGOs, and individual EU citizens (e.g. about risk assessment, labelling, patenting, and traceability), but the deregulation for all plant species has gone largely unnoticed.

As deregulation for wild plants (i.e. no assessment of risks prior to release) may pose a serious threat to the genetic integrity of natural populations, the GFÖ has issued an opinion paper calling for a restriction of the deregulation discussion to agricultural applications. Further, the GFÖ calls for prioritisation of science-based measures for realising a sustainable agriculture.

Please sign the petition and spread it via email and social media to colleagues, family, and friends:
https://action.wemove.eu/sign/2025-4-do-not-deregulate-new-genomic-techniques-ngt-for-wild-plants-EN

It is important that signatories come from as many European countries as possible, or even beyond, so please notify your international contacts.

Image: GFÖ