The EU is moving towards weaker rules for genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) deliberately released into the environment. The Commission says EU GMO regulations are blocking access to products available elsewhere. But the global market for environmental GMMs is tiny, their benefits remain uncertain, and scientists warn that environmental releases could pose risks that are difficult to predict, control or reverse.
National GMO coexistence rules still apply to all genetically modified (GM) plants, including those deregulated under new EU laws, a new legal opinion shows. This is because the EU has never exhaustively regulated these areas, also not in its latest Regulation (EU) 2006/1388 on plants derived from “new genomic techniques” (NGT). The German federal ministry of agriculture disputes this finding,…
Following today’s vote in the European Parliament, there will no longer be any specific safety assessments, labelling requirements for food and feed, or traceability in the environment for most genetically modified crops. This failure of democratic discourse on technology undermines the credibility of organised science and the already limited trust in the integrity of politics.
The European Parliament today voted to endorse the outcome of trilogue negotiations on the EU’s proposed legislation for genetically modified plants developed using so-called new genomic techniques (NGTs). Under the new rules, many plants engineered with gene editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas will fall outside EU GMO law, meaning requirements for environmental risk assessment, traceability measures and consumer labelling will no longer apply.
A plenary vote scheduled for 19 May has been postponed after MEPs tabled 37 amendments to the compromise deal hammered out between negotiators from Parliament, Council and Commission in December. The delay gives NGOs, businesses and citizens more time to pressure MEPs to improve the deal.
On 21 April, the Council of Ministers formally adopted the outcome of trilogue negotiations on the EU’s proposed new legislation for genetically modified plants developed with so-called new genomic techniques (NGTs). Save Our Seeds is calling on European citizens to urge their Members of the European Parliament to reject the bill.
Brussels, 19 December 2025 – A qualified majority of EU Member States today backed the deregulation of genetically modified (GM) plants produced using so-called new genomic techniques (NGTs). Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia did not indicate support during this morning’s meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) in Brussels.
In the night of 3 to 4 December, negotiators from the EU Parliament, Council of Ministers and Commission reached an agreement on a far-reaching deregulation of plants engineered with new GM techniques such as CRISPR/Cas. Under the deal, almost all requirements of EU GMO legislation would be abolished for this type of GM plants.
Berlin, 2 December 2025 — An alliance of environmental and farming organisations protested today outside the Federal Chancellery against plans to deregulate genetically modified plants created with new genetic modification (GM) techniques. The groups urged the German government to reject any deal emerging from tomorrow’s EU trilogue negotiations unless essential safeguards are included.
At present, only three genetically modified crops developed with new techniques such as CRISPR/Cas are on the market worldwide. That’s the key finding of the New GMOs Market Report, published by the European Non-GMO Industry Association (ENGA) and the US-based Non-GMO Project.