A French association and three German associations representing geneticists, agronomists, and other academic and professional figures involved in the field of plant biotechnology have sent a letter to Members of the European Parliament urging them to vote against the latest amendments concerning new genomic techniques (NGTs). The joint message is addressed in particular to the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). It defends the text developed over years of negotiations by the European institutions (the Trilogue) and responds point by point to its critics. Further delaying the approval of the new regulation, the experts argue, would hinder the development of solutions needed to tackle the climate challenge and would damage Europe’s competitiveness (currently, more than 50% of peer-reviewed NGT research comes from China, while the EU accounts for only 15%).

According to the associations, the existing legal framework already places limits on the patenting of naturally occurring traits and protects farmers in cases of accidental patent infringement. Other demands calling for a further strengthening of traceability requirements are considered scientifically and legally unworkable in all cases where the induced mutations are biologically equivalent to those obtainable through conventional breeding methods (a condition that, by definition, is met by all plants classified under Category 1 NGTs). The letter from AFBV (Association Française des Biotechnologies Végétales), FGV (Forum Grüne Vernunft), GfPB (Gesellschaft für Pflanzenbiotechnologie e.V.), and WGG (Wissenschaftskreis Genomik und Gentechnik e.V.) is available at this link.