During the plenary session, MEPs debate and vote the position of the Parliament for negotiations with EU countries on EU rules on new genomic techniques to make our food system more sustainable and resilient.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

vote

food safety (T)

LIESE, Peter (EPP, DE)

plant health (T)

cultivation of GMOs on the territory of Member States (T)

CANFIN, Pascal (Renew, FR)

POLFJÄRD, Jessica (EPP, SE, SE)

VRECIONOVÁ, Veronika (ECR, CZ)

TOUSSAINT, Marie (Greens/EFA, FR)

DALLI, Helena (MT, EC)

food security (T)

CLERGEAU, Christophe (S&D, FR)

New genomic techniques: statement by Jessica POLFJÄRD (EPP, SE), extracts from the debate and votes

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/74540601/1706875446369_I252436Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

External shot of the European Parliament in Strasbourg

SOUNDBITE (English), Jessica POLFJ&Auml;RD (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, NGTs is a new reading technique. It is a technique that has been awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and it is not today allowed to use in the European Union. But we can see that other parts of the world is using this technique, and it's a change in the DNA, which gives the possibilities to new plants to be more resistant to pests, for example, or drought or flooding.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jessica POLFJ&Auml;RD (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, This safe and this has also been evaluated. And what we can see that we can now say that you can choose whether to use the entity plant or not, because it will be labelled. So, what we can say this is safe. And I think that it's important for us to see how you can produce more food in the future and not less.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jessica POLFJ&Auml;RD (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, European farmers must be given the right tools to face the future when the demands of our agriculture increase and our climate changes. Today, we do have technology which has been awarded prizes and can contribute to taking steps forward in the EU's work on the climate. It can strengthen the competitiveness of European agriculture and increase our food production.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Jessica POLFJÄRD (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, NGTs are used in other parts of the world, and if we want the European Union to continue to be pioneering in innovation and in new technologies, we need a regulatory framework in place that makes this possible.

SOUNDBITE (Czech), Veronika VRECIONOVÁ (ECR, CZ), AGRI Chair, Precision breeding methods will give our farmers plants that will be more drought resistant, be less susceptible to moulds and other pests, and make better use of nutrients. Give a chance to methods that are supported by the general professional public and that are commonly used in other parts of the world. Give sustainable and competitive European agriculture a chance.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, I stress how important it is for the Commission and the subsequent discussions to maintain the logic of the proposal as informed by the scientific consensus, namely, that certain plants obtained by new genomic techniques are as safe as conventional plants. They should, in our view, be subject to the same rules as conventional plants.

SOUNDBITE (French), Cristophe CLERGEAU (S&amp;D, FR), 'We've made progress on some points in the text. For instance, on these new techniques which the Rapporteur has not defended in the Committee. But we should go further. We need to safeguard traceability information to consumers and effectively protect non-GMO producers in organic farming.

SOUNDBITE (German), Peter LIESE (EPP, DE),  On new breeding techniques there, I am convinced as a doctor and somebody who dealt with genetics in my PhD work, there are no unforeseen risks. There'll be no foreign genes, introduced into these plants. Unlike conventional genomic techniques, in many parts of the world, this technology is already used in certain horror scenarios. Other are not relevant because they haven't emerged there.

SOUNDBITE (French), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ) We have a very clear position. We're in favour of new genomic techniques, but not under any circumstances. We're in favour because we do want to find new solutions for farmers. They're faced with new challenges. They need to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilisers, and they have to respond to the challenges of climate change. But that doesn't mean we're willing to do this under any circumstances. For example, we do not want a product linked to a herbicide to be authorised as a new genomic technique.

SOUNDBITE (French), Marie TOUSSAINT (Greens/EFA, FR), Let us be responsible. And let's reject the demands to irreversibly bring in GMOs. Their motives, claim the patent. Motives were pitted against the general interest. We have technologies where our independence and food sovereignty is threatened. This is about the production of our farmers. The European Court of Justice recalled this. Genetically modified organisms are genetically modified organisms. This can lead to great profits for some, at the detriment of consumers and producers.

Cutaways of the vote on Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed - Polfj&auml;rd (A9-0014/2024) (11 shots)