On 16 June 2026, The Left group in the European Parliament tabled a set of amendments to the second-reading recommendation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) that would reject the Council's position and reimpose strict GMO-equivalent oversight. The seven amendments, led by MEPs Anja Hazekamp, Emma Fourreau, João Oliveira, Lynn Boylan, Kathleen Funchion, Konstantinos Arvanitis, Per Clausen, and Sebastian Everding, target the core of the legislative compromise by blocking deregulation, banning patents on NGT plants, and requiring mandatory traceability and labelling for all NGT-derived food and feed.
The amendments propose a wholesale rejection of the Council position (Amendment 17), effectively restarting the legislative process or forcing conciliation. A new Article 4a (Amendment 21) would render NGT plants, plant material, genetic information, and related processes unpatentable, directly countering the Council's silence on patents and aiming to protect breeders' access and farmers' freedom to save seeds. Amendments 20 and 22 introduce mandatory document-based traceability and unique codes for NGT products at every market stage, coupled with explicit labelling requirements under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, reversing the Council's move away from mandatory GMO-style labelling for category 1 NGTs. A new Article 24a (Amendment 23) obliges Member States to take measures to avoid the unintended presence of category 2 NGT plants in non-GMO products, addressing a gap in the Council text regarding coexistence and liability. Amendment 18 adds a recital warning that patenting NGTs risks giving multinational seed companies monopoly power over seeds, depriving farmers of freedom of action.
The amendments, if adopted, would have significant impacts on stakeholders. EU seed companies and biotech firms would face a ban on patents for NGTs, limiting their ability to recoup R&D investments and potentially reducing innovation incentives. EU farmers, particularly organic and conventional growers, would benefit from mandatory coexistence measures and labelling, preserving their freedom to operate without NGT contamination and maintaining consumer trust. EU consumers would gain transparency through mandatory labelling, enabling informed choices, but could face higher prices if NGT-derived products are withdrawn from the market. EU regulatory bodies would be required to enforce a stricter, GMO-equivalent framework, increasing administrative burden and potentially slowing approvals. The amendments are proposed at the second-reading stage, meaning they will be examined and voted on in plenary; if adopted, they would force the Council to reconsider its position or enter conciliation, prolonging the legislative process.