Following strong political pressures surrounding the legislative proposal of so-called “New Genomic Techniques”, EU institutions have reached a provisional agreement with major deficiencies for farmers, breeders, producers, consumers, and the environment. IFOAM Organics Europe now urges policymakers in the Parliament to rectify this mistake and defend their original demands on the topic of patents on NGT crops and traceability.
“The provisional agreement is a striking testimony to the continuous pressure to force a conclusion on the NGT proposal as soon as possible and at any cost. The stakes of these negotiations are high: largely 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”, said Jan Plagge, president of IFOAM Organics Europe.
He continued: “In 2024, MEPs from across the whole political spectrum rightfully cast their vote to introduce a clear approach in the official parliament position, both on the topic of patents on NGT crops and a product label based on full supply chain traceability to safeguard the entrepreneurial freedom of Europe’s food companies. Now that the file goes back to the ENVI committee and the plenary, the Parliament must make use of this last opportunity to defend these important safeguards, rather than being pressured into accepting a negotiated agreement that has drifted far away from their original demands”.
Jan Plagge concludes: “This trilogue agreement includes no effective provision to limit the scope of patents and protect the freedom to operate of traditional European breeders. Without an effective legal solution, the EU risks hindering real innovation in plant breeding, rather than promoting it. It is difficult to understand how Parliament’s negotiators could simply back off from the European Parliament’s clear demands to protect the European SMEs and food sovereignty”.
- Further information available at www.organicseurope.bio
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