On 3 July 2026, amendments tabled by Laurence Trochu, Marion Maréchal, Nicolas Bay, and Guillaume Peltier on behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group would strengthen a European Parliament motion for a resolution on genetically modified soybean MON 87705 by explicitly linking the file to farmers' protests and trade-policy demands. The amendments, prepared by the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, target two parts of the draft resolution.
Amendment 1 revises Recital S to add that farmers' demands during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 demonstrations included 'the convergence of standards between the Union and its partners in free trade agreements.' Amendment 2 inserts a new Paragraph 5a calling on the European Commission to 'ensure convergence of standards between the Union and its partners in free trade agreement negotiations, to meet Union safety standards.' The amendments are proposals still to be examined and voted on by the full Parliament; they do not yet represent the Parliament's adopted position.
The proposed changes would broaden the resolution's scope beyond the specific GM soybean authorisation to encompass wider trade and regulatory alignment. If adopted, the amendments would put the Parliament on record as tying the GM soybean file to broader farmer grievances about competitive conditions under EU free trade agreements. The Commission would be pressed to enforce EU safety standards in trade negotiations, potentially affecting ongoing and future trade deals with major agricultural exporters such as the United States and Mercosur countries.
Stakeholders likely to be impacted include EU farmers, who would see their demands for level playing fields formally recognised in Parliament texts; EU consumers, who would benefit from maintained safety standards; and non-EU agricultural exporters, who could face stricter alignment requirements. The amendments also signal a more assertive parliamentary stance on trade policy, potentially complicating Commission negotiating flexibility. The resolution, once finalised, will feed into the Parliament's position on the Commission's draft implementing decision authorising MON 87705, which is subject to the scrutiny procedure under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.