EU lawmakers abolish minimum rights for consumers, breeders, food sector
1. New GMOs: EU lawmakers abolish minimum rights for consumers, breeders, food sector – Friends of the Earth Europe
2. European Parliament approves deregulation of New GMOs, abandoning transparency in the food chain – ENGA
3. New EU rules: ‘GMO-free’ labelling will only be permitted with a seal in future
VLOG
4. European Parliament approves the deregulation of GMO-NGT plants, but the struggle of European peasant farmers does not stop there – European Coordination Via Campesina
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1. New GMOs: EU lawmakers abolish minimum rights for consumers, breeders, food sector
Friends of the Earth Europe, 17 June 2026
Today, the European Parliament failed to protect farmers, consumers and breeders in its final vote on new GMOs. A majority of MEPs decided to exclude the new generation of GMOs (products of so-called new genomic techniques) from all types of safety checks, traceability mechanisms and labelling, refusing to even bring patent safeguards back in.
Concretely it means that farmers, consumers or food processors have lost their right to choose the food they want to grow, buy and eat, as new GMOs will be hidden from them. The Parliament also sided with the European Commission and Council in granting indefinite rights for the biotech industry to grow and market new GMOs without any monitoring. If they cause harm to people, farm animals or nature, no one can be held accountable.
Mute Schimpf, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth commented:
"This is a dark day for European citizens. EU decision-makers, from agriculture ministers to parliamentarians led by European People’s Party and the far-right, chose to prioritise the profits of a few biotech giants over the rights of those that feed us, over our rights as consumers, over nature protection."
Moreover, without patent safeguards, corporate giants like Bayer, Corteva and BASF will be able to claim ownership of even natural seeds and products obtained from classical breeding by patenting traits that can also occur naturally or through classical breeding methods. This will not only block small and medium-sized breeders from accessing these crucial resources, but also allow these corporations to further expand their market control.
The only upside: so far, these new genetically modified plants have largely disappointed outside of Europe, and will not be ready for marketing in the next years.
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2. European Parliament approves deregulation of New GMOs, abandoning transparency in the food chain
ENGA, 17 June 2026
* Organic and Non-GMO will become essential safeguards for transparency and freedom of choice in future.
ENGA strongly criticises today’s decision by the European Parliament on the deregulation of New GMOs.
Heike Moldenhauer, ENGA Secretary General comments: “The European Parliament has sided with the biotech industry – and let down the food sector, small-scale breeders and farmers, and consumers. It has missed the opportunity to vote for the benefit of the food sector and for consumers and has irresponsibly neglected their right to know what is in their food. The Parliament has also failed to enact effective regulations against the patenting of plants and products derived from New GMOs.”
Despite repeated calls from the food sector, MEPs failed to secure essential safeguards: traceability and labelling throughout the whole value chain, detection methods for all New GMOs, and effective measures to prevent patents on New GMOs to the detriment of small breeders, farmers and food operators.
Since the EU legislation no longer requires labelling and traceability for most New GMOs, independent labelling schemes will become even more important in the future. Anyone who wants to be sure that their food has been produced without the use of new genetic engineering will need to look out for organic and Non-GMO labels.
“While most products containing New GMOs will become invisible in conventional supply chains, the key message for consumers is clear: New GMOs remain excluded from organic and Non-GMO products. These labels will therefore become even more important as safeguards for informed choice,” continues Ms Moldenhauer.
The legislation will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal, with operators having two years to adapt and to implement it. Until then, several technical and administrative details will need to be worked out, including numerous implementing provisions. ENGA will now closely follow the implementing phase and continue to work, with its members, on solutions for traceability, detection, coexistence, and certification.
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3. New EU rules: ‘GMO-free’ labelling will only be permitted with a seal in future
VLOG, 17 June 2026
The European Parliament has adopted the new EU rules on so-called ‘new genetic technologies’ (NGT). Consumers will soon only be able to tell whether food has been produced without the use of genetic engineering by looking for voluntary ‘GMO-free’ and organic seals.
“It is disappointing that MEPs have even pushed through the widespread abolition of GM labelling for food and have failed to secure an effective ban on seed patents – contrary to what the Parliament itself decided just two years ago,” commented Alexander Hissting, managing director of the Association for GMO-Free Food (VLOG), which awards the Green Party’s ‘GMO-Free’ label for food products.
“Now the voluntary ‘GMO-free’ and ‘organic’ labels must, and will, close this new legal labelling loophole. This is because the vast majority of consumers want clarity – even when it comes to ‘new’ genetic engineering (NGT) – as to whether it has been used in the production of their food. If genetic engineering could soon be present even in bread, beer, bananas or baby food, a ‘Non-GMO’ label will become even more important in future.”
Until now, food products containing genetically modified ingredients have always had to be labelled as such in the list of ingredients. Under the new regulations, this statutory labelling requirement for genetically modified organisms will be abolished for a large proportion of GMOs in two years’ time. Approval procedures, risk assessments and other safety measures for these genetically modified plants will also be abolished without further ado.
“The new rules make ‘GMO-free’ production more difficult and labour-intensive, but not impossible. We will rise to the challenges and adapt our standards accordingly to ensure that the use of NGT continues to be reliably ruled out. Shifting this burden from the genetic engineering companies – and thus from those responsible – onto the food industry is unfair and has, unfortunately, been largely ignored by the majority of MEPs,” said Alexander Hissting.
“Federal Minister for Agriculture Rainer must now work with ‘Ohne Gentechnik’ and the organic sector to amend Germany’s national rules on genetic engineering so that they are protected from NGT contamination and can continue to successfully meet the high demand for GMO-free food.” Together, these two sectors sold food worth around 36 billion euros in Germany in 2025.
The new EU rules on NGT are due to come into force following a two-year transition period. Until then, numerous technical and legal issues need to be clarified, such as rules on coexistence, documentation, liability and verification procedures. The new regulations could even be subject to a complete legal challenge, as several legal opinions and, most recently, a high-profile court ruling in the UK have already shown.
Ahead of the EU decision: New genetic engineering must also remain clearly identifiable
Legal analysis: ‘GMO-free’ must also exclude new genetic engineering
Legal opinion: Planned deregulation of genetic engineering would be unlawful
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4. European Parliament approves the deregulation of GMO-NGT plants, but the struggle of European peasant farmers does not stop there
European Coordination Via Campesina, 17 June 2026
After three years of negotiations, the European Parliament has voted in favour of the proposal to deregulate plants that are genetically modified by new genomic techniques (GMO-NGTs).[1] For European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), which represents the voice of small-scale peasant farmers, the European Union has betrayed farmers, consumers and seed SMEs [small- and medium-sized enterprises], giving up on its food and seed sovereignty and sacrificing the GMO-free sector.
This new GMO-NGT regulation removes all current requirements on the release of GMO plants in Europe. (Directive 2001/18/EC). This strict regulation, which includes labelling and traceability, was adopted in the early 2000s thanks to a large mobilisation of farmers and citizens. "Today, the European Parliament voted against the interests of farmers and citizens, giving its vote to multinational seed and biotech companies, which have been pushing for years to deregulate these GMOs and impose the patent model in Europe," said Alessandra Turco of ECVC’s Coordinating Committee.
The patent issue has been at the heart of these negotiations, as it is the main concern of farmers and small and medium-sized seed breeders when it comes to this new regulation. There are currently very few plants obtained by NGTs available on the market, and those are very far from fulfilling the promises of sustainability announced to justify this proposal, but these new genomic techniques are however all patented. Without traceability of GMO-NGTs, these patents can extend to conventionally bred plants.
The European Parliament ignored these legitimate concerns by failing to adopt a series of key amendments seeking to clarify European patent law (Directive 98/44/EC). These amendments aimed to prevent farmers and seed companies from being abusively prosecuted for patent infringement, in the event of accidental contamination, or if their conventional seeds naturally contain a trait similar to those obtained by new genomic techniques, which are patented. “Without this necessary change in patent law, the new NGT Regulation will pave the way for the widespread privatisation of genetic resources by a handful of seed companies. This will be a disaster for agricultural biodiversity and for peasant farmers, who will have a hard time finding seeds that are non-patented and suited to their farming practices" said Jean Thévenot of ECVC’s Coordinating Committee.
However, the struggle of peasant farmers and agri-food, beekeeping, environmental and consumer protection organisations does not end here. This new regulation is legally and scientifically shaky. Its incompatibility with certain provisions of the European Treaties and with the European Union’s international obligations on the regulation of GMOs (Cartagena Protocol) are weaknesses that will make it possible to challenge this unacceptable deregulation. ECVC calls on the EU Member States which have opposed this deregulation to launch proceedings to annul the regulation before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The peasant movement will remain mobilised to prevent the implementation of this dangerous regulation and will pursue all available legal options.
Notes
1. 431 votes in favour, 201 against and 29 abstentions. Details of the vote can be found here.
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