The European Parliament Approves The New Legislation On New Genomic Techniques (NGTs): A Historic Step For Agriculture

The European Parliament yesterday gave its final green light to the new regulation on the use of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in plants.

New legislation for the European Union
Until now, in the European Union, plants obtained through NGTs were subject to the same rules as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), which have been in place for more than two decades. This regulatory framework made it difficult for NGT plants to reach the market, as the approval process can take over 10 years and cost up to €10 million. For this reason, since 2021 the European Union has been developing a new regulatory framework for NGT plants.

The new framework, approved yesterday 17 June, aligns regulation with the genetic profile of the resulting plant, and not with the way it has been obtained. These are the main novelties of the text approved by the Parliament:

• Two categories of NGTs: NGT-1 plants, which present limited genetic modifications that could occur through conventional breeding. Once verified, they will be treated as conventional plants and will be exempt from the strict GMO rules. At the request of the Parliament, plants modified for herbicide tolerance or to produce insecticidal substances are excluded from this NGT-1 category. In contrast, NGT-2 plants, with more complex changes, will continue under the current GMO rules, requiring risk assessment and commercial authorisation.
• Traceability, labelling and organic production: All NGT-1 plant varieties will be collected in a public European database, and seed packages and reproductive material must carry the NGT-1 label to ensure that farmers make informed decisions. In addition, the text agrees that the use of NGTs will not be allowed in organic production.
• Patent control: NGTs may be patented, except those traits or sequences that are already present in nature or produced by biological means. However, measures have been introduced to avoid market concentration, guarantee affordable prices and fair access, ensuring that farmers maintain the right to save and replant their seeds.

nGENIA project: advice on the potential of NGTs
The culmination of this legislative process reinforces the importance of integrating scientific evidence into political decision-making, an advisory task that remains fully valid regarding the implementation of the new regulation. In this sense, CRAG provides strategic support to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) through the nGENIA project. This pioneering initiative, coordinated by CRAG, and with the collaboration of Fundación Antama and Biovegen, continues to be a key axis to provide rigorous scientific information on the potential of NGTs and promote coordination between scientific research, different actors of the agri-food sector and society.

And now, what?
The regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and will apply two years later. This framework will finally provide European researchers and farmers with the necessary tools to guarantee food security, promote sustainability and maintain European competitiveness in the face of the climate emergency.