On Tuesday 5 September in Cordoba, the majority of EU agriculture ministers were in favour of the 5 July proposal on new genomic techniques (NGTs), even though a number of aspects are problematic, such as patents on these NGTs and the treatment to be given to organic farming, which is currently excluded from the text.
The Spanish minister, Luis Planas, who chaired this informal meeting of European ministers, told the press that the ministers had recognised the potential of NGTs “in terms of obtaining new plant varieties to make food production more sustainable, combat climate change better and reduce the use of plant protection products and fertilisers”. Ministers also agreed on the need to give consumers “as much information as possible, so that they are not afraid of NGTs”.
Mr Planas admitted that discussions had focused on organic farming, “a very specific sector”, and how patents should be treated.
He expressed the hope that the ministers would reach a political agreement on the issue of new genomic techniques by the end of the Spanish Presidency. It will then be necessary to negotiate with the European Parliament.
“Yes, but” from the Commissioner for Agriculture. Janusz Wojciechowski has said “yes” to the new genomic techniques, “with a but”. In his view, it is very important to protect the agricultural sector from negative impacts, and we must “obviously avoid potential negative consequences for the organic sector”. “There are also patent dependencies”, warned Janusz Wojciechowski. Several ministers have raised the two issues of organic farming and patents.
Organic production. “There is a fear that if we use seeds that have been genomically modified, we will lose credibility in the organic sector. We’re going to have to get to the bottom of this danger”, said the Commissioner. The coexistence of the cultivation of these new seeds with organic farming must be clearly established, according to the Luxembourg minister. Under the Commission's proposal, the organic sector cannot use NGTs.
The question of patents. On the issue of patents, Luis Planas explained that the concern shared by many ministers is “that these new plant varieties could become very valuable varieties, but that only a lucky few will be able to afford them”.
According to Luxembourg in particular, consideration should be given to excluding new genomic techniques from Directive 98/44 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions.
The ministers also discussed measures to limit food loss and waste.
The Chairman of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, Norbert Lins (EPP, German), said: “We need to move quickly on this issue, because the European elections are coming up”. He expressed the hope that “we will quickly reach an agreement on the division of powers between the Agriculture and Environment Committees. I am optimistic that we expect to find a majority in the European Parliament on this issue”, concluded Mr Lins. The rapporteurs would be Jessica Polfjärd (EPP, Swedish), for the Environment Committee, and Veronika Vrecionová (ECR, Polish), for the European Parliament Agriculture Committee.
For the EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca), the new genomic techniques “are part of the toolbox that enables breeders to bring better plant varieties to market more quickly, which must be accessible in all sectors and regions to help European farmers, who are facing many challenges, including the acceleration of climate change”. Copa-Cogeca is hoping for a rapid decision on this issue under the Spanish Presidency of the Council.
Demonstrations. In addition, on the eve of the ministerial meeting of the informal ‘Agriculture Council’, Spanish farmers demonstrated to demand a temporary halt to legislation under the ‘European Green Deal’, tighter controls on imports from third countries and a review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In October, the Commission will present a report on the implementation of the CAP strategic plans. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)