Cibus welcomes vote of Environment Committee of the European Parliament

Cibus welcomes the vote of the Environment Committee of the European Parliament on 24th January in favour of new legislation for New Genomic Techniques NGTs..The legislation is part of a package of EU proposals to ensure resilient and sustainable use of the EU’s natural resources. It describes a category of NGTs, classed as targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis, producing modifications that could be obtained in nature or by conventional breeding. These are determined to be ‘Conventional-like’ and, once verified, would be regulated in the same way as conventional varieties. Before the vote, an open letter from 35 Nobel Laureates and over 1400 scientists urged MEPs to support the legislation in order to foster innovation, enhance food security and boost climate resilience.The legislation is part of a package of EU proposals to ensure resilient and sustainable use of the EU’s natural resources. It describes a category of NGTs, classed as targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis, producing modifications that could be obtained in nature or by conventional breeding. These are determined to be ‘Conventional-like’ and, once verified, would be regulated in the same way as conventional varieties. Before the vote, an open letter from 35 Nobel Laureates and over 1400 scientists urged MEPs to support the legislation in order to foster innovation, enhance food security and boost climate resilience. After the vote, MEP and rapporteur Jessica Polfjard said, “This proposal is critical for strengthening Europe’s food safety in a sustainable manner. We finally have a chance to implement rules that embrace innovation and I look forward to concluding negotiations in the Parliament and with the Council as soon as possible.”