17 June 2026: The European Parliament has approved the deregulation of plants obtained from new genetic engineering (or new genomic techniques, NGTs). Amendments to the regulation to prevent patents on seeds failed to gain a majority. As a result, the highly controversial legislation has been passed.
“The European Parliament has missed the chance to stop patents on seeds, or to at least limit their effects. We very much regret this decision. However, we will continue our efforts to prevent further patents, in particular on conventionally bred plants,” Johanna Eckhardt comments for No Patents on Seeds!. The international coalition has warned several times that the introduction of NGT plants will become a significant factor in driving up the numbers of patents on conventional breeding.
The new legislation has been widely criticized: NGT plants can now be brought to market without undergoing environmental risk assessment. Health risks will only be assessed in specific cases. There is no requirement for food product labelling or methods of detecting NGT plants.
Contact
- Christoph Then, spokespersonNo Patents on Seeds!, info@no-patents-on-seeds.org, +49 151 54638040
- Johanna Eckhardt, project coordination, No Patents on Seeds!, johanna.eckhardt@no-patents-on-seeds.org, + 43 680 2126 343
Further information
- Video of a No Patents on Seeds! webinar on 10 June: https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/NGT-Workshop
- Our latest publications: https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/background/publications
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