EU countries fail again to find agreement on gene edited plants patents

Despite the presentation of a new compromise text from the Belgian presidency, national experts could not find an agreement to unblock one of the agrifood’s unfinished dossier of the legislature.

The EU presidency in charge had tabled a compromise text for discussion on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 May, aiming to break the stalemate on the regulation and loosening the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) requirements for biotech plants created with specific genome editing techniques (NGTs) on sustainability grounds.

“We are not there yet, however, we do not give up and keep up the work, our Presidency role lasts until June 30,” Belgian presidency sources told Euractiv.

In the new text, the Belgians tackled the controversial issue of patentability, which several member states want to be excluded from NGT plants.

The legislative proposal makes a difference between NGT Category 1 plants, to be regulated as conventionally bred plants, and NGT Category 2, which falls under strict GMO legislation. Countries such as Poland asked for the 1st category to be exempted from patents.

The efforts focused on gaining the endorsement of Warsaw, as Poland has the weight in votes to change the balance in the Council on the NGTs file.

“The attempt was not successful,” a diplomatic source told Euractiv underlining that the position of member states did not change, since last November’s attempt under the Spanish presidency of the EU.

A blocking minority of member states – including Poland, Austria, Croatia and Slovakia – are still reluctant to endorse the legislation.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]

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