EU Parliament committee votes in favor of deregulation of genetic engineering
Published: Wednesday, Jan 24th 2024, 16:50
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A majority of the European Parliament's Environment Committee has spoken out in favor of relaxed genetic engineering regulations in the EU. If plants bred using so-called new genetic engineering can also be created using conventional methods, they should be exempt from strict EU regulations in future, as decided by a majority in the committee.
According to parliamentary statements on Wednesday, 47 politicians voted in favor of deregulation and 31 against. Before the new regulations can come into force, a majority in the entire EU Parliament must also speak out in favor of the project - a vote is scheduled for February. A compromise must then be negotiated with the EU member states.
The committee's position is based on a proposal from the EU Commission. According to this proposal, many genetically modified food and animal feed products should be easier to research and sell in the EU in future without special labeling. The MEPs have now largely followed this recommendation. They are also calling for seeds from deregulated varieties to be labeled and for a list of all such plants to be published on the Internet.
Politicians from the CDU and FDP take a positive view of the relaxation, as do many scientists. Advocates of the technology hope, for example, for breeds that are better able to cope with climate change, have more nutrients or require less pesticide use. Politicians from the Greens and the SPD, however, were critical on Wednesday. They believe that new breeds pose risks to people and the environment.
©Keystone/SDA
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