The document stipulates that in the future there will be two categories of genetically modified products on the EU market. Transgenic products with smaller-scale modifications will be allowed in supermarkets without special testing and labeling. Products with more extensive genomic modifications will continue to be subject to much stricter rules.
If the new rules are officially approved, consumers will no longer be able to tell by labeling whether they are eating conventional foods or those modified with modern genetic engineering. However, new varieties will still be subject to legally regulated testing and approval, writes the Polish Internet portal farmer.pl.
Optimists see a positive moment from the relaxation of the rules on GMO products on the European market in the fact that this process may intensify scientific research. For example, in the field of developing new varieties of wheat resistant to powdery mildew, or the development of stress-resistant varieties of corn and allergen-free peanuts. Supporters of the solution also hope that resistant plants will help fight the climate crisis and reduce hunger. In addition, they expect European farmers to become more competitive.
The planned easing of the GMO market regulation has not only supporters but also opponents. Thus, the controversy is not only environmental, but also economic context. Namely, a decrease in the competitiveness of European farmers. German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) called this decision a serious mistake. He emphasized that GMO-free agriculture must remain feasible and affordable. He demanded that supply chains ensure that transgenic plants and products can be distinguished from their unmodified counterparts.
The new rules must be approved by a majority of votes in the European Parliament and EU member states before they can come into force. As the institutions have already reached an informal compromise, this is usually a formality.
GMOs for Mercosur?
Some experts see the policy of relaxing the rules governing transgenic products on the EU market as being linked to the potential implementation of an agreement between the EU and Mercosur. In this regard, they point to the dominance of GMO technologies in the production of Latin American soybeans, corn and a number of other agricultural products. Their penetration into the European market within the framework of future liberalization of trade in agri-food products under the EU-MERCOSUR line is impossible without relaxation of strict EU rules on transgenic products.
Obviously, this process will also affect the competitiveness, in particular, of the compact but important sector of soybean production in the Republic of Moldova, which is positioned on the market as unmodified.
