Press release
Brussels, 04.12.2025 – EU member states’ representatives have put the sovereignty and freedom of choice of European farmers and breeders at risk after reaching a provisional agreement on the Council’s mandate for the New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) regulation, which omits essential traceability and labelling requirements.
Under this proposal, around 94 percent of NGT plants would no longer be subject to mandatory risk assessment, traceability, or labelling, and patents on plant traits would be permitted. Clear traceability and labelling for all NGTs are essential to allow breeders, farmers, producers, and consumers to make informed choices — especially for the organic sector, where both category 1 and 2 NGTs are banned.
“Parliament must enforce the ban on patents for all NGTs to guarantee the freedom of choice and sovereignty of European farmers and breeders”, urges Clara Behr, Head of Policy and Public Relations at the Federation. “In its current form, the regulation fails to protect them from patent claims and risks further concentrating the seed market in the hands of a few corporations. Parliament must act now to protect the diversity and sustainability of Europe’s agricultural sector.”
Deregulating NGTs threatens decades of breeding work and Europe’s ability to achieve future-proof, regenerative agriculture, while also putting consumers’ right to know whether their food is genetically modified at risk.
The trilogue agreement now awaits approval from both the European Parliament and the Council. The Biodynamic Federation Demeter International strongly urges them to reject the proposal and uphold essential safeguards. Only a comprehensive traceability and labelling system across the entire supply chain — reinforced by national coexistence measures — can ensure these protections for Europe’s farming and breeding sector.
