TWN Info Service on Biosafety
29 April 2024
Third World Network
www.twn.my
Dear Friends and Colleagues
Precautionary Principle Central to Regulation on Plants from New Genomic Techniques
In its proposal of July 2023, the European Commission (EC) aims to deregulate a subset of new genetic techniques (NGT), exempting certain NGT plants from the current EU regulatory framework for GMOs, based on a considered equivalence with conventionally bred plants. The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and others argue that this approach lacks valid scientific basis and violates the precautionary principle, since plausible risks cannot be excluded. If the proposal is adopted, the majority of current NGT plants (both domesticated and wild species) would receive a so-called category 1 (NGT1) status, allowing their use and environmental release without any risk assessment and any risk management measures.
In the view of BfN, a science-based regulation in line with the existing EU laws must be the prerequisite for a sustainable and safe use of NGTs. Importantly, the EC proposal concerns not just crops, but all plants including trees and wild plants. Deregulating NGT wild plant species, including trees and algae, along with crop species poses additional unnecessary risks from a nature conservation point of view.
This policy brief calls for the precautionary principle to remain central in the regulation on plants obtained by certain new genetic techniques. Risk assessment of NGT plants must be carried out case-by-case as part of their authorisation process for deliberate release, cultivation and import in the EU.
We reproduce below the key messages from the policy brief.
With best wishes,
Third World Network
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FOR A SCIENCE-BASED REGULATION OF PLANTS FROM NEW GENETIC TECHNIQUES
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (ed.)
Policy Brief #02/2024. Bonn.
https://bfn.bsz-bw.de/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/1754/file/pol241en.pdf
February 2024
Key Messages
– The precautionary principle enshrined in primary law of the EU must remain central in the regulation on plants obtained by certain new genetic techniques (NGT). The current legislative proposal does not fulfil this requirement.
– It is impossible to exclude potential risks of NGT plants just from the size and number of changes of the DNA sequence. Even small changes by genetic engineering can have a high-risk potential for the environment and health.
– NGT plants can have potential risks comparable to other genetic engineering techniques and can change plants in ways that go beyond conventional breeding.
– Also, a reference to “naturalness” is misleading, as a higher “resemblance with nature” is not per se associated with a lower risk.
– Risk assessment of NGT plants must be carried out case-by-case as part of their authorisation process for deliberate release, cultivation and import in the EU.
– Deregulating NGT wild plant species, including trees and algae, along with crop species poses additional unnecessary risks from a nature conservation point of view.
– Currently, only the genetic engineering law can ensure appropriate environmental risk assessment and risk management of, as well as control and testing standards for NGT plants; other EU regulatory regimes such as plant variety law are unsuitable in this regard.
– The European Commission cannot be authorised to amend essential test criteria by means of a delegated act. This decision is reserved for the legislative act.