A last-ditch attempt by EU governments to break a deadlock over relaxing regulations on gene-edited crops failed after countries including Poland rejected changes to the text that exempted patented seeds from the measure.
The text for so-called new genomic techniques (NGT), which would be the foundation of negotiations with the European Parliament before the law could take effect, was withdrawn from Wednesday’s agenda after it emerged in preliminary talks that there was insufficient support to reach a qualified majority, according to an EU official.
The new draft rules by Belgium presented this week sought to separate NGT technology from regulations covering traditional GMOs and also wanted any patented NGT seeds to still fall under the strictest GMO rules. However, Poland and others declined to back the modified text despite these efforts to assuage concerns about equal access to the technology for small- and medium-sized producers.
The EU parliament had endorsed NGT technology in February, but for the proposal to relax regulations to go ahead, lawmakers and governments would have to align their respective texts first. Unlike GMO, NGT can edit the genetic material of an organism without introducing foreign DNA, and its proponents say it effectively accelerates mutations that can occur naturally over time, potentially leading to varieties that could reduce pesticide use and make crops more drought-resistant and nutritious.
Critics, however, argue that NGT is no different from GMO and could damage fragile ecosystems and affect people’s health.
Cesar Gonzalez of Brussels-based Euroseeds, an association representing European seed businesses, said the failure to reach a consensus would imply a delay of at least a year in approving any legislation, as the EU’s rotating presidency will be led by Hungary and Poland, both of which oppose the legislation.
In the meantime, the EU may struggle to identify imported products developed using NGT because they won’t have foreign DNA that can be used to identify them, which Gonzalez said could be a “disadvantage for those here and an advantage for the others.”