On the night of Wednesday 3 to Thursday 4 December, the EU Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a regulation governing the use of new genomic techniques (NGTs).
European Parliament’s rapporteur, Jessica Polfjärd (EPP, Swedish), described the day as historic, after two years of negotiations. In her view, this technology will enable EU farmers to grow crops “capable of withstanding climate change and achieving higher yields on less land”. The EU Council and Parliament still have to approve this agreement (see EUROPE 13765/10).
Thanks to these new rules, “the EU [is adapting] its legislation to scientific progress. This will enable market access for SMEs and for NGT applications tailored to specific European needs while upholding the high European safety standards”, commented European Commissioner for Health and Animal Safety Olivér Várhelyi.
However, the European Parliament vote is expected to be very close, particularly due to the absence of rules on the traceability and labelling of category 1 NGT plants. Many political groups are divided on the subject of NGTs. Even within the EPP, Polish members are expected to vote against, as are all the Greens/EFA and The Left groups. There are also differences of opinion within the S&D and Renew Europe groups.
Category 1. The provisional agreement maintains the principle that NGT-1 plants are equivalent to conventional plants. National authorities will have to check that NGT plants do indeed belong to category 1, but their offspring will not subsequently need to be checked. NGT-1 plants and products will not be labelled, in line with the principle of equivalence. There will therefore be no traceability for the end consumer, which is a cause for concern within Parliament. The only exception is NGT-1 seeds and other plant reproductive material, which will have to be labelled.
Exclusion list. In addition, Parliament and the EU Council have agreed on an exclusion list of intended traits that cannot be included in the NGT-1 category. The EU Council and Parliament have agreed that tolerance to herbicides and the production of a known insecticide substance will be included on this exclusion list and cannot be one of the intended traits of category 1 NGT plants. This change to the Commission’s proposal will ensure that such plants are classified as NGT-2 and therefore remain subject to authorisation, traceability and monitoring.
As a result, NGT seeds that are resistant to herbicides or insecticides will not be authorised in Europe, MEP Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, French) told journalists on Thursday 4 December. For example, the NGT model (associated with glyphosate) in Brazil will not be authorised in Europe, he said. As the regulation covers both imported seeds and imported agricultural production using these seeds, all Brazilian agricultural production is affected. Brazil will therefore not be able to export soya produced with NGTs combined with glyphosate, he also deduced.
Chimeric proteins. European Parliament says it is satisfied to have secured rules under which any trait found in an NGT plant, but impossible to find in nature, would be classified as a category 2 NGT plant (GMO).
Category 2. Plants with more complex genomic modifications are classified in category 2. For NGT-2 plants, the EU Council and Parliament followed the Commission’s proposal to maintain the existing legislative requirements for GMOs, including compulsory labelling of products. If the label includes information on modified traits, all relevant traits must be mentioned. The EU Council and Parliament also agreed to allow Member States to opt out from cultivating NGT-2 plants on their territory. Finally, the agreement includes optional coexistence measures, allowing Member States to take measures to avoid the unintentional presence of NGT-2 plants and other products, if they wish to do so.
Patents. The compromise aims to complement the EU Council’s position. Patents for NGT plants have been authorised (European Parliament was opposed to this), with safeguards to ensure, according to Pascal Canfin, that small and medium-sized seed companies in Europe are not jeopardised by the arrival of these NGT seeds. This includes possible licensing agreements and a code of conduct to be established by the Commission. Mr Canfin explained that patent holders will be able to choose to use this code of conduct and a platform to conclude licensing agreements. If, after several years, the Commission finds that there is an excessive concentration in the hands of large seed companies to the European ecosystem’s detriment, it may take the necessary measures (such as introducing compulsory licensing agreements).
Sustainability. In order to direct the use of NGTs towards the development of plants with sustainability traits (e.g. resistance to climate and pests), the co-legislators have instructed the Commission and Member States to monitor the impact of NGTs on sustainability, in particular using data obtained during official controls.
Organics. No NGT plants or seeds will be permitted under organic production specifications, but the technically unavoidable presence of NGT-1 plants will not constitute non-compliance.
A revision clause is planned for organic processors (the organic regulation allows the use of certain conventional products) in order to assess the effects of introducing NGT-derived plants into organic products (processed products). In two or three years’ time, the Commission will have to analyse the situation and, if necessary, amend the organic farming regulation.
Lastly, Pascal Canfin gave his assurance that no NGT-derived plants would be offered for sale on the European market for at least five years.
Christophe Clergeau (S&D, French) will not be supporting this compromise, which he believes opens the door to “new GMOs without monitoring in nature, no traceability, no free choice for consumers and no restrictions on plant patents”.
Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA, Austrian) condemned the “total deregulation” resulting from this agreement and spoke of the worst possible scenario for consumers and organic farming: there would be no traceability or product labelling for 95% of plants derived from NGTs, and no coexistence measures to guarantee GMO-free farming, deplored the MEP. In his view, large companies will benefit from their patents and will no longer have to comply with the EU’s precautionary principle.
For IFOAM Organics Europe, “on the basis of hypothetical promises about the potential sustainability of NGTs, the future of European breeding, farming, and food is being put at risk, as well as consumers’ freedom of choice and right to know what is in their food based on clear labelling provisions”, according to its president, Jan Plagge. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)