The latest news from Brussel is that recently re-elected Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has finally revealed her picks and priorities for her new team of Commissioners over this next 5 year political cycle. So what does this mean for future policy making on seeds?

The EU works in 5-year political cycles. Every 5 years, there is an EU election to elect representatives in the European Parliament – the results of which we just saw back last June. But the page is also turned in the European Commission, with a new crop of Commissioners that head up the Commission’s work.

However, while the faces at the top of the Commission change, many of those within the mechanics of the Commission stay the same.

On files that are already open, leftover from the previous political period – including proposals on the Plant Reproductive Materials (PRM) and New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) – eyes for the moment are still on the Council, who has yet to reach a compromise on either file.

However, things are unlikely to move ahead over the next 6 month period, as neither file is a priority for the current holders of the EU rotating presidency, the Hungarians, who are vocal opponents to the EU’s plans to loosen rules on genetic technologies. Meanwhile, diplomatic sources say that the PRM is not a priority file for their Presidency.

Over in the Parliament, it’s not yet clear who will head up work on the files as negotiations progress, but both of the MEPs charged with overseeing work on the two files — centre-right lawmakers Herbert Dorfmann (for seeds) and Jessica Polfjärd (for NGTs) were successfully reelected. While this does not automatically mean they will resume their rapporteur roles, in general rapporteurs try to retain their roles, especially if the files are very technical (as is the case here).

First things first – who are the main players in the new round of political games?

Luxembourg’s Christophe Hansen has been put forward as the new Commissioner for Agriculture and Food. His work will be overseen by the Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Italy’s hard-right politician Raffaele Fitto. There is also Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi who takes up the reins of Health and Animal Welfare Commissioner.

This is dependent on the candidate’s abilities to win over the Parliament, who will have the opportunity to grill each proposed Commissioner and vote. For a comprehensive overview of their backgrounds and roles, see this ARC2020 article.

Well, it’s a good question considering that seeds did not merit a mention in any of the so-called ‘mission letters’ - the ones sent from the Commission President outlining her expectations from her new crop of Commissioners.

This is despite the fact that competitiveness is at the core of von der Leyen’s new vision, and that seeds are a key part of competitiveness for European farmers.

Meanwhile, it’s worth knowing that an underlying principle of von der Leyen’s vision is ‘cooperation’ between Commissioners. This is designed to reflect the interconnected challenges Europe is facing, like the climate and biodiversity crises, but it also means there will be plenty of crossover between Commissioners. Which seemingly blurs the lines of responsibilities – something that could cause headaches down the road if the President isn’t able to keep her team on the same page.

It will certainly be the case for the main Commissioners for agrifood on elements such as, for example, the affordability elements, but also crucially for genetic techniques and organic farming support. Currently, it's therefore unclear who exactly will have which final responsibility, but also indicates that Commissioners will need to have a close working relationship – important to note for key open files such as the New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) and the Plant Rreproductive Material proposals.

Also important to note is that the Agriculture Commissioner is charged with the promotion of “cutting edge science, innovative technologies and emerging products in the agrifood sector”. This could suggest that he will have a heavier hand overseeing work on NGTs (also known as New GMOs, gene editing).

Another interesting observation is that food security is not mentioned in his brief, but food sovereignty is – perhaps a signal that this will become the new buzzword.

Von der Leyen also sets out that the success of this new Commision will be “measured against our ability to meet the targets and objectives we set, notably as part of the European Green Deal”. That being said, not a single new Commissioner has ‘Green Deal’ as part of their title.