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Planned relaxations of European rules for new genetic engineering methods have overcome an important hurdle: a majority of conservatives, liberals and right-wingers in the European Parliament voted in favor of a proposal that would bring genetically modified varieties onto the market more quickly. The prerequisite is that the new breeding could have been created using conventional methods such as selection.

The decision is based on a proposal from the EU Commission. Before less strict rules can be finally decided, they must be negotiated with the EU states in a further step. It is unrealistic that there will be a result before the European elections in the summer, also because the EU states have not yet agreed on a negotiating position. The project would have to find a majority in parliament again after the negotiations have been concluded. What is crucial here is what majority there will be after the election.

Brussels had proposed significantly relaxing the regulations for the use of so-called new genomic techniques (NGT) and introducing two categories for genetically modified plants. In the first category, new varieties with up to 20 genetic changes compared to the original plant should be treated largely like conventional plants. Stricter regulations should continue to apply to plants with more genetic interventions.

According to the EU Commission's plans, for genetically modified varieties from the first category, only the seeds would have to be labeled. Products in the supermarket, on the other hand, would no longer have to explicitly state that they were produced using genetic engineering. Consumer advocates therefore reject these proposals.

Amendment: Labeling also in supermarkets

The members of the European Parliament voted in principle for the law on Wednesday. At the request of the Social Democrats and the Greens, Parliament wants to ensure that all products made from genetically modified plants must be labeled. According to the parliamentary resolution, they would have to bear a label stating “new genomic processes”.

The aim of the relaxation is, among other things, to give farmers access to more resilient plants that, for example, require fewer pesticides or can cope better with climate change. The EU Commission proposed deregulation last summer.

Plants are not completely unchanged today. For decades, crop plants in traditional breeding have sometimes been deliberately treated with radioactive radiation or chemicals, so that mutations enter the genome. Legally, the plants produced in this way are genetically modified organisms, but they are exempt from regulation in the EU and do not have to be labeled or undergo a special safety test.

Consumer advocates still often reject the reform, saying consumers should be able to decide for themselves whether to buy products containing genetic engineering. In Germany, at the beginning of January, several large companies from the food industry protested against the EU Commission's proposals in an open letter, including Frosta, dm, Alb-Gold, Alnatura and Andechser.

"New genomic techniques are central to improving food security in Europe and making our agricultural production more sustainable," said rapporteur Jessica Polfjärd from the EPP Group, according to a statement. "The new rules enable the development of improved plant varieties that deliver higher yields, which are unaffected by certain climatic influences or for which fewer fertilizers or pesticides are needed."

In the European Parliament, 307 members voted for the reform, with 263 voting against and 41 abstentions.

ani/dpa/AFP