More reactions to ENVI Committee vote in favour of new GMO deregulation

1. Outcome of NGT (new GMO) vote in EP ENVI committee – Corporate Europe Observatory
2. ENGA Statement on European Parliament ENVI Committee vote on NGTs 
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1. Outcome of NGT (new GMO) vote in EP Envi committee
Next betrayal of the Green Deal to please the likes of Bayer and BASF
Corporate Europe Observatory, 24 Jan 2024
https://corporateeurope.org/en/2024/01/outcome-ngt-new-gmo-vote-ep-envi-committee

Today’s vote in the EP Environment Committee on the deregulation of New GMOs (NGTs) is the next betrayal of the EU Green Deal in the European Parliament, after the SUR debacle (pesticide reduction) and Nature Restoration Law (NRL). Too many MEPs have shamefully fallen for the years long corporate lobby campaign.

The EP ENVI committee has made the proposal of DG SANTE even worse! Rapporteur Polfjard introduced an unvalidated, even more radical deregulation approach based on the advice of a single professor.

Already, the Commission proposal meant a far-reaching deregulation, with criteria that lacked any scientific basis (Annex 1). The Commission proposal would remove any safety checks for around 94% of NGT plants currently in the pipeline, according to the German BfN. But the Rapporteur’s Compromise Amendment for Annex 1 makes the situation even worse by introducing a new and unvalidated approach, which would make safety checks a rare exception. 

Nina Holland of Corporate Europe Observatory comments: "Too many MEPs chose to ignore independent science on the risks of a mass roll out of new GM crops without sufficient safety checks, consumer labelling, traceability or liability rules. This is backsliding of environmental and health protection, just to please some big businesses."

MEPs of ECR, EPP and many Renew – such as Polfjard, Huitema - chose to listen to Bayer and BASF instead of to farmers, scientists and citizens. Citizen polls show a majority of people are in favour of safety rules and freedom of choice.

One positive exception is an amendment proposed by S&D MEP Clergeau demanding indoor safety checks on intended and unintended effects via whole genome sequencing, which was approved.
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2. ENGA Statement on European Parliament ENVI Committee vote on NGTs 
ENGA, 24 January 2024
https://www.enga.org/newsdetails/key-committee-in-the-european-parliament-shows-utter-disregard-for-transparency-of-new-gmos/

* Key Committee in the European Parliament shows utter disregard for transparency of New GMOs 
* Industry Association calls for postponement of EP Plenary vote 
 
In a bleak day, both for citizens’ right to know what is in the food they are eating and for the food industry, today (24 January) the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee has voted to refuse the right to know whether New GMOs (or NGTs) are in food or in value chains.
 
The draft law, should it be approved after trilogue between Council, Commission and Parliament, will mean that there will be no transparency and labelling of New GMOs (New Genomic Techniques, such as CRISPR/Cas) in feed and food. ENGA – on behalf of the Non-GMO food industry – calls on the European Parliament to postpone its plenary vote, scheduled for early in February, given the lack of time to debate the too many remaining open questions.
 
In today’s vote the majority of ENVI Committee MEPs agreed on new equivalence criteria – criteria by which it will be determined when NGTs are considered equivalent to conventional breeding – which were submitted to the Parliament at the last minute. These criteria form the centerpiece of the planned deregulation and were presented at such short notice that neither EFSA nor national authorities had the opportunity to assess them.
 
ENGA highlights further serious critical issues in the legislation, which remain unanswered, such as:
 
* The patenting of NGTs: to exclude the patentability of category 1 NGTs, it is not enough to amend Directive 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions; the European Patent Convention must also be amended. With this “pseudo-solution”, breeders, farmers and food companies cannot reliably exclude NGTs and may therefore be subject to patent infringement proceedings.
 
* The lack of coexistence measures for agriculture and food production with and without New GMOs means that freedom of choice cannot be guaranteed. ENGA calls for the necessary measures (labeling, traceability, detection methods, EU wide binding coexistence measures).
 
Heike Moldenhauer, Secretary General of ENGA, said: “With the majority of conservatives, right wing parties and liberals voting in favour of this legislation, the MEPs on the ENVI Committee have today totally ignored the wishes of both citizens and the food industry. Clearly won over by big agri/biotech lobbying, they have completely disregarded the desire of consumers and the food sector to know what they are buying and when there are GMOs in their food. This proposal is quite clearly not ready to be voted on in the plenary of the European Parliament; too many critical questions, with far reaching consequences, have not been solved. Therefore, we call on MEPs to postpone the February vote and take the much needed time for proper debate and understanding of the scientific issues.” 

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