The legislative file on so-called “New Genomic Techniques” (new GMOs) – Where are we at?
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU is in the last weeks of its chairpersonship – so, let’s reflect on what has happened on the hot and controversial topic of “New Genomic Techniques” under their leadership.
Where do we come from?
The Commission published a legislative proposal on “New Genomic Techniques” (so-called NGTs) to adapt the current regulatory framework on genetic engineering on 5 July 2023 (see here our past newsletter item explaining the content of the proposal). This proposal came after significant political pressure, where misleading narratives were repeatedly pushed for by pro-NGT stakeholders, and following a 2021 study from the European Commission.
From that moment onwards, both the European Parliament and the Council have hurried to reach positions on the file. The European Parliament has reached a position and finalised its official ‘first reading’ of the file. The text of the Parliament’s position remains close to the Commission’s proposal but introduces some additional provisions on traceability and labelling for Category 1 NGT crops, which should be, according to the proposal, “considered equivalent to conventional plants”.
Yet, the EuCouncil of the EU is still struggling to reach a compromise (there were two failed attempts by the European Council to reach a “general approach”, once in December 2023 and then again in February 2024). Under the Spanish and Belgian Presidencies, EU agricultural ministers were put under enormous pressure to reach a position, with intense frequency of exchanges between the EU Member States and a rushed process that omitted a thorough discussion on many topics including biosafety and consumer information. Instead, discussions in the Council were centred exclusively around solving the patent issue to protect the European breeding sector (this infographic and open letter explain the issue). A blocking minority of countries so far has prevented a general approach.
The Hungarian presidency: An unsuccessful attempt to open comprehensive discussions
The current Hungarian Council presidency published a non-paper beginning of July, delineating 9 outstanding issues with the NGT proposal, and asked Member States to send in their input on the non-paper.
As IFOAM Organics Europe, we welcomed this approach opening comprehensive discussions, stating that there are many crucial unresolved issues. The rushed legislative process on NGTs goes against the interests and freedom of choice of European breeders, farmers and citizens. As voice of the European organic movement, we are urging policymakers for thorough discussions to address the concerns raised by Member States and, at a minimum, to keep essential safeguards for biosafety and freedom of choice for producers and consumers.
The reactions of EU Member States to this non-paper were mixed: While some Member States submitted constructive feedback, most countries supported the compromise proposal from February 2024 and asked for the presidency to take it as a starting point. Some Member States misleadingly stated that many of the issues raised in the Hungarian non-paper were already resolved in the previous working group.
The ban of all NGTs for the organic sector has large support in the Council. However, most countries stated that seed labelling is sufficient to ensure the freedom of choice, thus not extending the system of full supply chain traceability, which is important to give farmers and food producers the tools to remain NGT-free.
On the topic of labelling, in an impressive joint action, organic and conventional companies from all over Europe have united behind Food Industry for Freedom of Choice. 376 companies from 16 EU countries are calling for rigorous labelling, co-existence measures and detection methods of NGTs in Europe to safeguard their freedom of choice. In September, István Nagy, the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and current EU Council President for Agriculture and Fisheries received the industry’s concerns in person.
All eyes on Poland
While the Hungarian presidency did not manage to make significant progress on the NGT file, the legislative proposal is far from being forgotten by EU policymakers. A lot of uncertainty surrounds the potential timeline of the legislative process, but what is certain is that all eyes will be on the Polish government which will preside over the Council from January 2025 onwards.
To learn more about the topic of new GMOs access to a lot of informative material, feel free to check:
- Our living resources page;
- Myths about organic & NGTs;
- Read the paper Sustainability in organic breeding;
- Watch our video explaining what new GMOs are and why we need to keep them labelled and regulated;
- Find out about analytical detection methods the DARWIN project is developing;
- Visit our website page on (new) GMOs
Did not find the information you need? Contact helene.schmutzler@organicseurope.bio for more information. Please do note that we prioritise our members’ requests.
IFOAM Organics Europe members can find more information on the member extranet and background materials in the arguments database on the member extranet (main messages, arguments/FAQs, visuals & videos). Contact membership@organicseurope.bio for access rights (issues). For access to our member extranet and information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact membership@organicseurope.bio.
