(EU) European Parliament adopts negotiating position on new rules for gene-edited crops

On February 7, the European Parliament passed its negotiating position on the proposal of the new genome technology (NGT) regulation by 307 votes in favor, 263 votes against and 41 abstentions. The EU gene editing crop regulatory framework reform has taken a key step, but the dispute over labeling and patent issues will still run through the follow-up legislative process.

The draft regulation proposed by the European Commission in July 2023 intends to differentiate gene editing and other new genome technology crops from traditional genetically modified organisms: "Class 1 NGT" equivalent to conventional varieties and with no more than 20 genetic differences will be exempted from the risk assessment, labeling and traceability requirements under the genetically modified regulations; "Class 2 NGT" still applies to the current genetically modified rules; All NGT products shall not be used in organic agriculture.

This time, the European Parliament has added its position while maintaining the two classification frameworks: mandatory labeling of all NGT products and the establishment of a public registry, and a total ban on patents for NGT technologies. Industrial organizations such as the European Seed Association and Copa-Cogeca support the reform, believing that the new rules will help the EU breeding industry narrow the gap with the United States, Canada, Japan, etc., while organic agriculture and environmental groups have warned that deregulation will exacerbate the patent monopoly of large seed companies and impact the organic sector.

The next step is for the European Parliament to start tripartite negotiations with the Council of the European Union. The Board has repeatedly failed to agree on a negotiating mandate, with some member states opposing the imposition of labeling obligations on Category 1 NGTs and others having reservations about the scientific basis for threshold setting. The EU seed industry expects the new regulations to be implemented as soon as possible so as not to continue to lag behind other major agricultural exporting countries in the biotechnology breeding competition.

Sources: European Parliament press release; European Commission COM(2023) Proposition 411; USDA FAS, February 2024.