NGTs modified plants under Union law: changes ahead

On 29th of April, the European Commission published a study regarding the status of New Genomic Techniques (NGT) under Union law. The study is concerned with risk assessment on plants developed with NGTs, and it is followed by a letter from the European Commission to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In the letter, NGT developed plants are defined with a similar risk profile as traditionally-bred plants. This, combined with the difficulty of identifying plants modified with certain techniques, such as CRISPR technology, prompted the European Commission to propose changes to the regulations of these products. Until now, all of them were put under the GMO legislation. However, the study demonstrates that this legislation does not fit some NGTs and their products, and that it must be adapted to scientific and technological progress.  

The current risk assessment procedures on NGTs plants are too stringent for the Commission because they are limited to a case-by-case evaluation, slowing the approval process to products that are quite different from traditional GMOs, for which the legislation was designed.  

According to the European Commission, a new legislation more based on the risk levels of the NGTs plants is needed, as these products may be crucial to achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy.  

Furthermore, the Commission had evaluated that NGTs are already in use by several EU trade partners, such as the US. The actual regulation on GMOs could lead to trade issues with these partners while providing no real benefit to European citizens’ health. This could also lead to the creation of technical trade barriers, potentially leading to disputes between the EU and its trade partners, the Commission said.  

The letter concludes with the intention of publishing an inception impact assessment, which will include additional legislators and stakeholders consultation.    



Source:  

https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/gmo/modern_biotech/new-genomic-techniques_en