On Wednesday 24 April, the European Parliament confirmed its first-reading position on the rules governing the use of new genomic techniques (NGTs).
The report by Jessica Polfjärd (EPP, Swedish), which amends the initial proposal, was adopted during the European Parliament plenary session with 336 votes in favour, 238 against and 41 abstentions (see EUROPE 13345/2). An amendment by The Left group to reject the European Commission’s proposal on NGTs was defeated in plenary (189 votes to reject the proposal, 390 against rejecting and 40 abstentions). The next European Parliament after the June elections will have to decide how to proceed on this issue. The EU Council has not yet taken a position on the proposal (see EUROPE 13379/4).
The European Parliament provides for two different categories of NGT plants. NGT plants considered equivalent to conventional plants (category 1) would be exempt from the requirements of GMO legislation, while those in category 2 would have to comply with the stricter rules applied to GMOs.
MEPs are planning compulsory labelling of products from NGT 1 and NGT 2 plants. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)