“Political breakthrough strengthens Europe as a research hub” / Call for swift implementation of the new regulatory framework 

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) welcomes the provisional agreement announced by the European Union regarding a new legal framework for plants produced using new breeding techniques (New Genomic Techniques, NGT). The agreement provides for simplified rules concerning so-called NGT-1 plants that could also have been produced using conventional breeding methods. These plants will no longer have to comply with the strict authorisation and labelling requirements that will continue to apply to other plants produced using new breeding techniques (NGT-2).

“This reassessment of plants produced using new breeding techniques will give a significant boost to science in Germany,” said DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker. “The political breakthrough achieved in the negotiations strengthens Europe as a research hub and opens up new pathways towards climate-resilient and resource-efficient agriculture. It is now crucial for new rules to be swiftly confirmed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU and implemented in all member states,” Becker added.

“The DFG has advocated scientifically sound and risk-based regulation of new breeding techniques for years,” said Professor Dr. Axel Brakhage, Chair of the DFG Senate Commission on Genetic Research. “Together with the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, we have pointed out in various statements that, from a scientific perspective, genome-edited plants whose genetic changes could also occur naturally or through conventional breeding techniques do not pose any particular risk and should therefore be treated like conventional varieties.”

The proposed classification of NGT-1 plants reflects this scientific finding and implements a key principle: what matters are the characteristics of the product, not the breeding method used. The DFG explicitly welcomes the fact that this move overcomes a strictly process-based regulatory approach, which has so far significantly restricted research and innovation. The new legal framework provides researchers and breeders in Germany and Europe with reliable prospects. It facilitates field trials, strengthens competitiveness and establishes the conditions for developing more robust, sustainably produced crops that can contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the EU Farm to Fork Strategy.

In order for the reform to enter into force, the agreement must still be approved by a majority in the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The DFG calls on the EU institutions to endorse the compromise reached in order to ensure swift implementation of the new legal framework: “Modern breeding technologies offer huge potential for food security, sustainability and adaptation to climate change – potential that can be harnessed responsibly through up-to-date regulation,” said DFG President Katja Becker.

Further Information

To the Position Paper of the Permanent Senate Commission on Genetic Research of the DFG “In support of a timely and state-of-the-art regulation of the products of new breeding techniques as a contri-bution to tackling multiple crises in the 21st century(Download)” (2023).