Newsletter
Newsletter 2026 June
Newsletter 2026 May
Newsletter 2026 April
Political issues: PRM, GMOs/NGTs
Plant Reproductive Material (PRM)
EU Commission published a proposal to revise the seed regulation in July 2023. New EU Regulation on the Production and Marketing of Plant Reproductive Material (PRM). Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) means seeds, seedlings, tubers, stolons, grafts, but also cell cultures and other micropropagation materials. More than 240 European NGOs, farmers’ organisations and breeders’ organisations sent an urgent alert in November 2025.
Final agreement on the PRM Regulation
Written by Judit Feher, Kvann
The European Union has reached a provisional agreement on the new regulation on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11548-2026-INIT/en/pdf
Formal recognition for grassroots conservation
For the first time, conservation networks and organisations operate within a formalised legal space, moving out of the legal grey area. These groups can produce, exchange, and market diverse material without profit, having granted exemptions from professional operator registration, strict certification, and heavy traceability rules.
Legal protection for farmer seed exchange
The new rules explicitly allow farmers to exchange seeds in kind without monetary compensation, supporting the dynamic management of their own seed. However, this win comes with some limitations, as exchanges are restricted to small quantities at the local level and completely prohibit certain species for phytosanitary reasons.
Diverse seeds for amateur gardeners
Final users and hobby gardeners will have easier access to agro-biodiversity, as operators can market material to them without variety registration or mandatory seed certification. This ensures a wider diversity of varieties for consumers, however producers must still meet basic quality, health, and germination standards.
Pathways for locally adapted and organic varieties
The regulation creates a simplified registration pathway for conservation and locally adapted varieties, allowing them to be registered based on an officially recognised description rather than strict technical examinations. Furthermore, the existing regime for organic heterogeneous material remains unchanged, ensuring stability and preventing the entry of genetically modified organisms in this category.
Continue reading here.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)/New Genomic Techniques (NGTs)
EU Regulatory Update: The deregulation of NGT-1 – and GMMs?
Written by June Rebekka Bresson, NOAH
On June 17, 2026, the European Parliament passed a landmark regulation that exempts a major category of new genomic techniques (NGTs) from the established EU GMO framework. Under these new rules, plants and seeds modified with up to 20 genetic alterations—classified as Category 1 NGTs (NGT-1)—will no longer be subject to standard safety risk assessments, GMO labeling requirements, or field-to-plate traceability. Instead, the only mandatory notification will be a basic label on seed bags. This fundamental shift in policy was pushed through by altering the annexes and scope of the EU Deliberate Release Directive 2001/18/EC.
The Deliberate Release Directive has been a cornerstone of European environmental safety since 2001, established because the intentional release of GMOs carries proven, long-term risks to both biodiversity and human health. By carving out this exemption, the EU is now permitting the unregulated introduction of complex genetic modifications directly into our ecosystems and food systems. Without mandatory traceability or separation measures, the unregulated release of these plants means that, over time, conventional and organic seed pools are expected to face widespread cross-pollination and contamination. This unchecked spread threatens the genetic integrity of non-GM crops and removes the possibility of maintaining strictly GMO-free supply chains.
Although the new seed legislation (PRM) grants farmers general permission to exchange conventional seeds at the local level, this permission does not apply if the seeds contain a patented NGT trait. This is because patent law takes precedence over seed legislation. If a farmer exchanges or saves a seed that is patented by a biotech company, he is violating patent law—regardless of the fact that the PRM rules state that farmers are allowed to exchange conventional seeds.
Continue reading here.
Click and enlarge the posters.
On 2 December 2025, citizens organisations in the nordic countries sent an open letter “Preserve the Labelling of Foods Produced with New GMO Techniques” to the members of the European Parliament in Denmark and Sweden. You can download the letter in English, Danish and Swedish.