BIOVEGEN positively values the approval of the NGT crops proposal in the EU Environment Committee
On January 24, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament voted in favor (47 votes in favor, 31 against, 4 abstentions) of the European Commission’s legislative proposal on New Genomic Techniques (NGT) in plants.
At BIOVEGEN, we welcome this positive vote and consider it a significant step forward in the agri-food sector towards the approval of the proposal (put forward by the European Commission on July 5, 2023) for the adoption of new legislation in the EU for NGT plants that suitably differentiate them from genetically modified crops.
The final approval of this legislative proposal would allow progress at the European level towards a safe use of plant editing techniques in agri-food production, contributing to reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in crops, achieving greater resilience against adverse climate change conditions, improving the characteristics of plant-based products, and increasing productivity to help meet food demand in a sustainable and resilient manner.
We believe that this legislative proposal represents a more balanced framework than the existing one, is aligned with scientific criteria and evidence, and facilitates access for public research centers and SMEs to develop NGT varieties (reducing complexity and costs of development, authorization, and commercialization).
In this context, from BIOVEGEN we consider that a step in the right direction is being taken, and we remember that there are still important votes from the plenary of the Parliament and the European Council. At this point, we also want to thank the work of the European Commission, the members of the Environment Committee, and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture itself (which has promoted this proposal during the Spanish presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023) for their efforts and willingness to listen to the arguments and needs of the scientific and business community in plant breeding.
Overall, the vote on January 24 brings closer the exciting possibility of agreeing on legislative text during this legislative term, to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy, where NGT plants will play a key role.