March 24, 2025
EPSO welcomes the decision by the EU Council to move forward and start negotiations with the EU Parliament and Commission on the legislative proposal for regulation of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in plants.
These NGTs, when regulated like other breeding methods under current standards, will provide additional tools for breeding environmentally sustainable, future-climate-ready, healthful, and more diverse crops and foods, contributing to Food and Nutritional Security, helping to fulfil the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Consumer surveys in various European countries have found increasingly positive attitudes towards NGT use to deliver e.g. improved nutritional qualities and environmental benefits.
EPSO notes that standards for evaluating the equivalence between NGT plants and conventional crops as defined in Annex I may need to be clarified further and broadened based on scientific evidence as crop genomes in the breeders’ pool are much more dynamic than understood at the time the proposal was developed, so the number and size of sequence changes that are considered equivalent to those of conventional plants must be re-evaluated and broadened.
EPSO looks forward to engaging as a major stakeholder with Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission to achieve a well-balanced regulation. EPSO will continue providing scientific input in the course of the discussions with policy makers and other stakeholders.
Read the full EPSO first reaction to the EU council decision to move forward the proposal regarding the regulation of New Genomic Techniques, 24.3.2025
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