MOF, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 136: Udtalelse fra Folketinget til Kommission om Kommissionens forslag om brugen af nye genomteknikker (NGT) i planteavl (KOM(2023)0411) af 5. juli 2023

Miljø- og Fødevareudvalget 2023-24
MOF Alm.del Bilag 136
Offentligt

Commissioner for Health and Food Safety

Stella Kyriakides

Europa-Kommissionen

B-1049 Bruxelles

Belgien

Opinion on the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on plants ob-

tained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed

(Contribution/political

dialogue) (Com (2023)0411)

21 November 2023

J.nr.: xxxxx

Dear Stella Kyriakides

The new plant breeding techniques (NGTs) have the potential to enhance

productivity and reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture, as well as to

make crops more resilient to climate change. The new breeding technology

could prove crucial for the EU's opportunities to realize the green transition in

agriculture. Among other things, according to the European Green Deal, we

must reduce the use of pesticides by 50 % and restore nature to cover at

least 20% of the EU's land areas by 2030. We therefore need measures that

support innovative companies in the EU, which can deliver the necessary

sustainable solutions to the agricultural and food industries.

The Danish Parliament would therefore like to express its support for the

Commission's new proposal for a regulation on plants obtained by new ge-

nomic techniques and their food, and feed. The proposal contains a number

of significant improvements compared to the current GMO legislation in the

EU. This particularly applies to the proposal that certain NGT plants should

be able to be reported on an equal footing with traditionally bred plants, when

the new added traits could also have arisen naturally or through traditional

breeding. The Commission's proposal is both necessary and a step in the

right direction, which must not be missed.

However, in Parliament’s opinion, there is room for and a need to further pro-

mote this development. In particular, Parliament urges the Commission to

take a similar step in relation to the use of this technique on microorganisms,

so that European companies can also exploit the great potential in this area.

Parliament is aware that an assessment from EFSA in this area is awaited,

which is why it is relevant to revise the regulation on NGT microorganisms

immediately after this is presented, but it is crucial that the Commission's pro-

posal on plants is adopted without delay.

The European Affairs

Committee

Christiansborg

1240 Copenhagen K

3337 5500

[email protected]

www.ft.dk

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MOF, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 136: Udtalelse fra Folketinget til Kommission om Kommissionens forslag om brugen af nye genomteknikker (NGT) i planteavl (KOM(2023)0411) af 5. juli 2023

The NGT method has the potential to significantly increase efficiency in agri-

culture. It can create high-yielding plant varieties, requiring less agricultural

land. This can strengthen European food security, as the possibilities for pro-

ducing food locally increase if current complications such as climate change,

more unstable weather, and war in Ukraine are addressed. Moreover, it is

promising for the green transition. Parliament therefore urges the Commis-

sion to ensure that changed framework conditions for NGTs also contribute to

an increased focus on plant-based solutions. It should therefore be ensured

that incentives are generally created to allocate less productive land to na-

ture, climate, and environmental measures on parts of the surplus land.

Parliament supports keeping organic production out of the proposal on the

regulation of NGT plants, as this area is best regulated in the Organic Prod-

ucts Regulation.

Parliament emphasizes that there is a risk that the lack of focus on patenting

new genetic technologies (NGTs) in the legislative proposal may lead to chal-

lenges related to monopoly formation within crop breeding. If it becomes pos-

sible to patent crops that are bred using NGTs, it could potentially hamper re-

search and innovation in the development of climate-adapted and robust

crops, as fewer smaller companies and researchers will be able to breed fur-

ther on the new variants of plant varieties. This can ultimately reduce the de-

gree of local adaptation in the member states. The patent issue is, however,

not only relevant in relation to NGT crops but also conventionally bred crops.

It is therefore positive that the Commission proposes that NGT varieties

should be regulated according to the same rules as traditionally bred varieties

within the existing UPOV system. Here, the breeder’s exemption can contrib-

ute to supporting the development of new variants of plant varieties. Parlia-

ment therefore looks forward to the study announced by the Commission on

the issue of patenting and the possible consequences thereof.

Parliament would also urge the Commission to take a closer look at the time-

consuming processes regarding EU approvals of new foods (novel foods).

Plant-based solutions are crucial for a sustainable European food sector.

Therefore, biosolution companies should have the best possible conditions.

There will still be a need for the existing approval procedures in the EU's cur-

rent GMO legislation when we talk about more complex NGT and GMO

plants, which clearly differ from naturally occurring organisms or classical mu-

tations.

The use of genetic technology in the EU must take place in both a safe and

ethically defensible manner, but our European legislation must not create ob-

stacles to innovative solutions for the agricultural and food industries, which

can contribute to achieving the goals of the European Green Deal, the farm

to fork strategy, and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, while making

our companies competitive on the global market.

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MOF, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 136: Udtalelse fra Folketinget til Kommission om Kommissionens forslag om brugen af nye genomteknikker (NGT) i planteavl (KOM(2023)0411) af 5. juli 2023

Parliament therefore looks forward to the presentation by the Commission of

the “EU Biotech and Biomanufacturing Initiative”, which was launched by the

Commission’s President in her State of The Union Speech on 13 September

2023. It is necessary to ensure that we in Europe have the necessary instru-

ments and framework conditions to promote the green transition.

Best regards

Hans Kristian Skibby

Chairman of the Committee on Environment of the Danish Parliament

Niels Flemming Hansen

Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament

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