Governments agree to ease regulation of new-generation GMOs

Euronews

14-03-2025

The EU has moved a step closer to lifting controls on some genetically modified crops after diplomats in Brussels gave the green light on Friday for final talks with the European Parliament, which has already backed a proposal to split them into two categories.
Laboratory techniques developed since the EU put in place its current GMO regulations two decades ago mean new properties can now be conferred by precisely editing a plant's genome, rather than inserting whole genes from another species.
Under the incoming rules, the products of new genomic techniques like the Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR-Cas9 'genetic scissors' will be placed in a lower 'category 1' and exempted from strict risk assessment and labelling requirements.
They would also be removed from an opt-out that has allowed most EU governments to ban – often with broad public support – the commercial cultivation of all GM crops in their countries.
Governments have agreed that products of the more modern genetic engineering techniques should not have to be marked as such on supermarket shelves, although seeds would still have to be labelled to allow organic farmers to avoid them.
Backers of GM crops, notably powerful agricultural technology and chemicals companies and the intensive farming lobby, argue that such targeted mutations could occur spontaneously or through conventional breeding, so there is no need for any special treatment.
Euroseeds, a trade association whose members include European agro-tech giants like Bayer, Syngenta and Cortiva, welcomed the EU Council's agreement and called on MEPs and governments to agree an 'innovation friendly' legal text in upcoming final talks.
'This means treating conventional-like NGT plants and products similar to conventional breeding without discriminatory labelling or traceability requirements,' secretary general Garlich von Essen said.
But opponents of the deregulatory move argue that even small tweaks to a plant's genetic code could create unpredictable risks that would be all but impossible to contain once the new breed is in the wild.
Mute Schimpf, who leads food campaigning at Friends of the Earth Europe said the intergovernmental deal marked 'a dark day for consumers, farmers and the environment'.
'EU governments have voted on the side of a handful of big corporations' profits, instead of protecting farmers and consumers' right to transparency and safety,' Schimpf said.
The German GMO watchdog Testbiotech pointed out that as well as waiving risk assessment and traceability, governments in the EU Council had also agreed to allow the patenting of all GM plants, even those derived from most wild species.
'New developments such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and new possibilities for more risky changes of plant characteristics are not taken into account,' the NGO added.
The new regulation will now be discussed behind closed doors by MEPs, government delegates and the European Commission. A likely sticking point is the parliament's call, in a negotiating mandate adopted a year ago, for a total ban on patenting of new-generation GMOs in order to avoid large farms creating monopolies.
Euronews has opened an office in Warsaw and officially celebrated with an event attended by leading figures from politics, media and civil society.
Guests included Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa, Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, and opposition leader Mateusz Morawiecki.
The president of Euronews, Pedro Vargas, defended the network's presence in Warsaw. "In a politically divided country, like so many others in Europe today, we will fight every day for neutral, objective and impartial journalism," he said in a speech.
"Euronews will be an uncensored place where all non-violent opinions have a place. You can count on us to be nothing but strong defenders of Freedom."
Euronews wanted to know how those present appreciated the opening of Euronews Poland.
"Of course this launch is important because it enriches our news market and freedom of expression and the opportunity to know more from different points of view is the most important thing for freedom," said the former Polish Ambassador to Finland, Jarosław Suchoples.
According to former Polish Ambassador to Germany Andrzej Byrt, "Euronews is well known in Poland, at least to all those who are interested in international relations. With its competence and professionalism, after the first year, it will gain a very solid place among all international media."
The new Euronews bureau is located in the city centre, in the immediate vicinity of the Palace of Culture and Science and the Warsaw Museum of Modern Art. Since it opened in November 2024, the bureau's team of journalists has been growing, with more expected to join them soon.
The addition of Polish to the 19 European languages in which Euronews already broadcasts is a milestone for the channel, which currently reaches more than 400 million people across TV and connected devices.