Polish Presidency – new proposal on NGT legislation

News

With a new compromise proposal, published on 7th January, the Polish EU Council Presidency hopes to break the stalemate in the negotiations between EU member states on the New GMOs (or New Genomic Techniques, NGTs) legislation. ENGA has some insights into the course of the negotiations.

The new proposal from the Poles essentially consists of the Council version of 2024, which was supplemented by new rules on patents. Poland is aiming for a qualified majority in the Council, by focusing exclusively on the issue it believes needs to be resolved most urgently: patents. This would clear the way for the trilogue between the EU Commission, the EU Parliament and the Council and enable the legislative process to be completed.

The core of the Polish proposal: A category 1 NGT plant, covered by a patent, should be labelled as ‘patent-protected’ or ‘patent pending’ in addition to the ‘NGT category 1’ indication currently planned. Individual EU member states could ban the cultivation of NGT1 plants on their entire territory or parts of it. A corresponding regulation, known as opt-out, has already been in place in the EU since 2015 for the cultivation of old GMOs.

Beyond the issue of patents, the Polish Council Presidency has not addressed any of the many points of criticism levelled by member states at the EU Commission's NGT proposal. There is still no plan for comprehensive labelling of food from or containing NGT plants, and it does not mandate any detection and identification methods. There are also no regulations to ensure coexistence between NGT crops and Non-GMO agriculture and food production. There are no requirements for a risk assessment for NGT1 plants. Last but not least, even if some Member States make use of the opt-out clause to protect national farmers and breeders against patents, it does not resolve the key problem linked to them: the further seed market concentration. Mainly large seed companies will benefit from New GMOs because they already hold a large number of patents, including basic patents on techniques like CRISPR/Cas. As patent holders, they can dictate access to and prices for genetic material and new genomic techniques. 

Council working group meeting

On 20th January, the Council working group met. According to reports, most delegations neither agreed nor disagreed with the Polish proposal, saying they need more time to establish a position. Many were very critical of the proposal, including in the pro-deregulation camp. 

The most important concerns were the excessive administrative burden, the potential incompatibility with existing patent law and Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), the legal uncertainty for SMEs and breeders created through the possibility of national opt-outs, and formal errors such as incorrect references and recitals without corresponding articles in the body of the text.

Delegations can now send in written comments by 30th January. The next Council working group meeting is scheduled for 14th February.

The Polish proposal is here.