Several countries also believe that genetic modification of food products must be clearly indicated on packaging and labels. The food industry is strongly opposed to this.
Although intensive negotiations have taken place at the administrative level in recent months to conclude the NGT (new genetic techniques) file as quickly as possible, there is significant opposition especially from environmental groups and organic farming against possible ‘mixing’ with GMO-modified seeds and crops. There are also legal concerns about abandoning the health-protective ‘precautionary principle’.
Due to abstentions from Germany and Bulgaria, and opposing votes from Poland, Romania, Austria, Hungary, and several other EU member states, the most recent compromise proposal from the Spanish presidency stood no chance at the monthly Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels. This is a setback for Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas, who had hoped to unlock several ‘stuck’ EU files.
Caretaker Agriculture Minister Piet Adema said that the Netherlands could live with the negotiated compromise, although the Netherlands has reservations about the opt-out possibility for the NGT-2 category.
Because of this situation, the dossier is now being passed on to the Belgian presidency, in the first half of 2024. But since the European election campaign will then begin, it is uncertain whether there will be sufficient agreement in time among the 27 EU countries and the groups in the European Parliament. This is despite many agriculture ministers and EP groups stating they are in a hurry.
In addition, Food Commissioner Stella Kyriakides could not yet reassure the Agriculture Ministers that allowing a light category (NGT-1) will not lead to the chemical agri-industry seeking patents and ‘rights’ on seeds and plant material. Several countries pointed out the need for further negotiations.
Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed a relaxation of GMO rules to enable new technologies for genetically modifying crops by exempting them from the restrictive law on genetically modified organisms (GMO). According to the European Commission, these scissor techniques are already allowed in some other food-producing countries, and ‘the EU must not fall further behind’.
Moreover, the European Commission hoped that allowing these new genome techniques as quickly as possible could alleviate some of the protests against the SUR proposals to halve the use of pesticides in agriculture. That proposal was thrown out by the European Parliament last month but not by the ministers. The European Parliament Agriculture Committee is expected to take a position tonight.