The Czech Presidency of the European Union believes that relaxed rules should be introduced as soon as possible for the approval of new GMO techniques in agriculture and horticulture. Other EU countries have also been urging this for some time.
According to Minister Zdenek Nekula, the current legislation not only affects farmers, but also leads to the departure of brilliant scientists from the EU. Climate change, food insecurity, and seasonal shortages make it necessary to loosen the current regulations for genetically modified food and seed technologies in the EU, Minister Zdenek Nekula said on Friday in Prague.
Nekula stated that new so-called genomic techniques can help make crops more resilient against drought, frost, diseases, and pests. "We need modern rules," he said, while calling the current GMO rules a "limitation."
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, for his part, emphasized that his new proposal on genetic editing of food will be announced in the second quarter of 2023. He added that this will only come after a thorough analysis of the risks to human health, the environment, and also taking into account the interests of the agricultural sector.
"We must be cautious. We cannot risk public health and the environment," he said. "We must find the right balance," Wojciechowski added, noting that organic farming should be protected against the possible consequences of approving new mutations.
The current legislation requires a permit for marketing all genetically edited food, following an assessment of the risks to human health and the environment. According to a recent study by the European Commission, the current regulation is not suitable for assessing new genome techniques.
Environmental groups fear that a revision of the rules could mean that the risk assessment will be lowered, or that requirements to label such edits might even be abandoned.