The European Union is in the process of introducing a new legislation that would exclude most of the “new generation” of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – seeds, plants and foods developed through new genomic techniques (NGTs) such as gene editing – from its existing GMO regulations.
The draft law significantly weakens the approval process for these new GMOs, removing safety checks, transparency and labelling requirements. These changes have sparked widespread concerns about the environmental impacts, and in particular raises the question whether the new legislation is compatible with the European Union’s obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
This briefing seeks to elaborate on those concerns and urges EU decision makers:
- to ensure that third parties will remain fully informed whether EU exports contains living GMOs
- to ensure that GMOs underwent an environmental safety checks prior to its exports.
