COCERAL and FEDIOL welcome the Official Proposal on New Genomic Techniques, as released by the European Commission today. This legislation represents a fundamental milestone of the Commission’s activity under the current mandate, to deliver green solutions beneficial for our society at large, through breeding tools which are faster and more precise.

The proposal reflects a fair balance between reaping the benefits from plant breeding innovation, while maintaining a high protection of human and animal health and of the environment, which represents a move in the right direction.

In addition, the legislation is poised to introduce features of a future-proof approach to policy-making, under the ambitions of the Farm to Fork and Green Deal. It is hence expected to help match the needs of contemporary food chains, as a tool with potential to support the farmers and the food business operators as a whole. The dramatic challenges coming from climate change, geopolitical instability and supply chain disruptions call (in parallel) for a transition to more sustainable agriculture and food systems, which need compatible and coherent technologies. In that regard, New Genomic Techniques may have a role in helping address the needs of food security and resilience of our food systems.

Our associations praise the point of clarity about conventional-like varieties that could be obtained through NGTs, through a simplified notification approach which is in line with the scientific findings of EFSA, and able to speed up the launch on the market of new plant varieties. In addition, we believe it is fair to maintain a separate “Category 2” for varieties obtained through techniques which are not conventional-like and could otherwise cause acceptance problems if not properly managed.

 COCERAL and FEDIOL will continue to work responsibly with the institutions to improve the clarity and effectiveness of the proposal and make it workable both in the internal EU market, as well as in globally interconnected supply chains which know no boundaries.

Full press release also available here