During a meeting of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee on Tuesday 9 April, France’s Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail - ANSES) reiterated its criticism of the proposal governing the use of new genomic techniques (NGT) (see EUROPE 13384/13).
Klaus Berend, from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (SANTE), defended the proposal, saying that it was based on scientific research provided since 2012 by EFSA and on impact assessments.
The Commission has proposed two categories of NGT: where the genetic modifications are minor (category 1), the plants will be governed by the rules of conventional plant breeding; where the modifications are more pronounced (category 2), the stricter legislation on GMOs applies.
Christophe Clergeau (S&D, French) felt that from the point of view of ANSES, “there is no link between the criteria proposed by the Commission and the possible consequences in terms of plant functioning and in terms of possible impact on health or the environment”. Furthermore, according to ANSES, the distinction between categories 1 and 2 was not based on a risk analysis approach, noted Mr Clergeau. This legislation is therefore, in his view, “obsolete”. Mr Clergeau advised that a “major scientific forum” was needed to address the issue of defining categories 1 and 2. According to Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, German), being able to discuss the risks of NTGs is a must. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)