Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný believes new gene editing techniques could help the European Union cope with climate change and the challenge of feeding its population.
With mounting concerns over climate change and a burgeoning global population, the emphasis on providing European consumers with safe, affordable, high-quality food has become crucial. According to the Czech minister, the answer to these challenges might lie in advanced scientific techniques – such as gene editing.
The European Commission proposed to relax rules on new gene editing techniques (NGTs) in July 2023.
Until now, these techniques have been subject to the GMO Directive with a rigorous authorisation process. However, scientists have long said that genomic techniques are significantly more gentle and advanced and pose no danger.
“These techniques are already common worldwide, and Europe cannot be left behind. Let’s do everything we can to ensure that this legislative text passes through the EU structures as quickly as possible and can be positively applied in practice,” the minister said during a debate on NGTs organised by EURACTIV.cz.
As EURACTIV previously reported, EU agricultural ministers are divided over looser gene editing rules, with Hungary and Austria expressing explicit criticism and Germany voicing concerns over the patentability of NGTs.
The Czech minister admitted that he would like to play an active role and convince European partners about the benefits of the NGTs.
“If it is possible, even through informal discussions, to move things in the right direction, I will be the first to do so,” Výborný said.
He also emphasised that the issue of NGTs and their difference from GMOs should be well explained to the public.
Relaxation of the NGT rules was also discussed in the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), where Czech MEP Michaela Šojdrová (KDU-ČSL, EPP) said she believes the proposal has a chance of successful adoption.
“Across the parties, with the exception of the Greens, there is a lot of support for this legislation,” Šojdrová said. She expects that there will be heated debates about the potential usage of NGTs in organic farming, something that introductory provisions of the European Commission’s proposal rule out.
(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)
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