More than 160 representatives from international non-GMO industries and European associations declared their opposition to the deregulation of new genomic techniques (NGTs), as proposed by the European Commission, on Tuesday 8 October at the ‘International Non-GMO Summit 2024’ in Frankfurt.
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) have indicated that they wish to reach a compromise that guarantees consistent labelling, coexistence and traceability of NGTs.
The Hungarian Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy, said he was convinced that the precautionary principle should be applied when NGTs are used and organisms produced using these techniques are released into the environment and the food chain.
German Secretary of State Silvia Bender has criticised the European Commission’s draft regulation on NGTs, doubting that it takes sufficient account of the interests of consumers, farmers and food processors. “We need functioning coexistence measures, from seeds to consumer”, explained Ms Bender.
The Council has still not adopted a common position on this issue (see EUROPE 13499/15). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)