A report commissioned by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, published on 29 September, reveals the hidden interests of certain lobbies working in the field of new genomic techniques (NGTs).
The survey shows that a number of organisations in favour of the deregulation of new genome editing techniques have direct links with the seed industry (including Bayer and Corteva). A ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU in 2018 had judged that GMOs obtained through mutagenesis or cisgenesis were in fact subject to GMO legislation.
In spring 2023, the European Commission will make a proposal on GMOs derived from new genomic techniques (see EUROPE 13000/6). EU agriculture ministers had called for this review of the legislation (see EUROPE 13023/2).
The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament opposes this amendment. “The Commission must not give in to the lobbies. It should maintain the current legislation on GMOs and also ban new varieties of manipulated plants. These modified varieties must not be sown in EU countries or imported. We still don’t want GMOs in our fields or on our plates!”, commented Benoit Biteau (Greens/EFA, French).
For its part, the Court of Justice of the EU is expected to clarify its interpretation of the GMO Directive before the end of the year.
Link to the study in question: https://aeur.eu/f/3d2 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)