BRUSSELS — European Parliament Committee Backs Proposal to Relax Rules on Genetically Modified Plants
Lawmakers on the European Parliament’s environment committee have voted in favor of a proposal to relax rules on genetically modified plants produced using new genomic techniques. This decision has sparked strong criticism from environmental groups.
The issue of genetically modified organisms has long divided the European Union, with the bloc adopting legislation in 2001 to regulate their production and sale.
The Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety voted 47-31 with four abstentions in favor of the European Commission’s proposal to relax these rules. The European Parliament is expected to vote on the proposed law during its Feb. 5-8 plenary session before negotiations with EU member countries can begin. However, there is still division among member countries on the issue.
In a letter to EU lawmakers earlier this month, 37 Nobel prize winners and other scientists urged support for new genomic techniques, or NGTs, and called for an end to “anti-science fearmongering.”
The current legislation provides environmentalists with assurance that the EU will not become a free-for-all for multinational agro-corporations to produce GMOs in bulk and sell products to the bloc’s 450 million citizens without proper labeling and warnings.
However, the committee has agreed to create two different categories and sets of rules for genetically modified plants produced using NGTs. Those deemed equivalent to traditional crops will be exempt from GMO legislation, while other NGT plants will still have to follow current requirements.
The committee has also decided to prohibit all NGT plants in organic production and to ban any patents filed for NGT plants. This is to prevent legal uncertainties, increased costs, and new dependencies for farmers and breeders.
Committee rapporteur Jessica Polfjard believes that this proposal is critical for strengthening Europe’s food safety in a sustainable way. “We finally have the opportunity to implement rules that embrace innovation, and I look forward to concluding negotiations with the parliament and council as soon as possible,” she said.
However, environmental group Greenpeace has raised concerns that the new law could threaten the rights of farmers and consumers, as it does not provide sufficient protection against the contamination of crops with new GMOs.
Greenpeace campaigner Eva Corral stated, “Decades of progress in the EU on farmers’ rights, and protecting people’s health and the environment, should not be sacrificed for the sake of biotech industry profits. EU law does not prohibit research and development, but it aims to ensure that what is developed does not compromise the rights of EU citizens to health and environmental protection.”
