In March 11 and 19, the European Parliament’s ENVI and AGRI committees established their positions on the overhaul of the proposal to reform the European legislation on the Production and Marketing of Plant Reproduction Material.

Seed association and Seeds4All partner ARCHE NOAH, praised the committe for voting “clearly in favour of seed diversity in Europe".

ARCHE NOAH pointed out some weaknesses in the committee's position, in particular the “unresolved” problem of curbing patents on conventional breeding, as well as the fact that unreasonable bureaucratic requirements for small-scale seed producers were not addressed.

However, it said, the vote gave hope that active conservation organisations and public gene banks could soon be allowed to pass on seeds in small quantities outside the scope of the seed law to farmers and hobby gardeners. Meanwhile, the vote also backed the farmers’ right to sell their own seeds and plant reproductive material, albeit with some restrictions.

Despite a promising start to the year, the situation has recently taken a more worrying turn, in the run-up to the final vote in Parliament's plenary session, scheduled for 24 April.

Industry players are lobbying against the openings for more diversity contained in the Com AGRI report. Euroseeds called it a “setback” for the common market for PRM which could jeopardise “seed quality, plant health, customer information, and official oversight”.

In this context, Seeds4All is strongly encouraging its readers to calling MEPs and taking part in the lobbying campaign coordinated by ARCHE NOAH!

At the invitation of ARCHE NOAH, a group of seed savers incl. Seeds4All, gathered outside Parliament last 22 February to meet MEPs Sarah Wiener, Martin Hausling and Herbet Dorfmann © Thierry Monasse

The European Parliament has given its blessing, last February 7, to the EU Commission’s plan to loosen rules on new genetic technologies – but the Council is now facing major stumbling blocks in moving the negotiations forward.

Concretely, MEPs backed the idea of splitting plants created with the new technology into two categories with two different approval paths. Category 1 NGT plants, considered equivalent to conventional ones, would be exempted from the requirements of the EU’s GMO legislation, while category 2 NGT plants would still have to follow stricter requirements.

However, the Parliament agreed that there should be mandatory labelling of products from both categories of NGT plants, as well as mandatory traceability and a safeguard clause ensuring the withdrawal of authorisation in the event an issue is discovered – all points considered a silver lining by green groups. MEPs also agreed that all NGT plants should remain prohibited in organic production, concluding that their compatibility requires further consideration.

Despite facing fierce lobbying efforts, MEPs backed a full ban on patents for all NGT plants and plant material in efforts to “avoid legal uncertainties, increased costs and new dependencies for farmers and breeders,” according to a Parliament press release.

Patents have proven a particularly sticky point for both the Parliament and its fellow lawmakers over in the Council after the Commission chose not to open the pandora’s box in its original proposal. This is because the issue remains a major impasse between member states – and, more specifically, a hard red line for the biggest swing vote in the mix, Poland.

Since February, negotiations within the Council appear to have stalled. No agreement will be reached before the European elections. The dossier will therefore be taken up again in the autumn, and the trilogues (negociations between the three European institutions) could see the emergence of a different position on the part of newly elected MEPs.