New GMOs, seed marketing: two reforms threaten peasants’ rights

The European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) organises a hybrid event to discuss the potential implications on peasants’ rights of two legislative proposals that are on the agenda of the College of European Commissioners on 7th June 2023: the exclusion of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) from the current GMO regulation and the reform of seed marketing regulations.

Draft programme:

10:00 Welcome and introduction
10:10 Presentations

• – Deregulation of new GMOs and reform of seed marketing legislation: How will this impact peasants’ rights and the European GMO-free agricultural sector?  The impacts of a potential deregulation of new GMOs on the application of European patent law, seeds marketing, peasants’ rights to seeds, small and medium-sized European seed companies and food sovereignty (M. Guy Kastler, member of the ECVC Seeds & GMOs Working group)
• – European patent law and the risks of patent abuse if traceability of new GMOs disappears (representative of the European Patent Office, tbc)
• – What impact would these two reform proposals have on the European GMO-free agricultural sector and on organic farming (ECVC Seeds and GMOs Working Group)

11.00 Statements by MEPs

11.20 Panel discussion with the presence of representatives of the European Commission:

• – Ms. Irene Sacristán Sanchez, Head of Unit Biotechnology, Health and Food Safety Directorate-General (DG SANTE)
• – M. Jean Ferrière, Social sustainability Unit, Directorate General Agriculture (DG AGRI)
• – Directorate General Health and Food Safety, Plant Health Unit (to be confirmed)
• – Directorate-General Internal Market, Intellectual Property Unit (to be confirmed)

12.00 Questions and answers

Registration is required. Participants will receive a confirmation email with a link for online participation.

Related ECVC positions and analysis:
Report: Impacts of the Commission’s initiative to amend GMO regulation on theapplication of European patent law, 2022 (available in FR, EN, ES, IT).
Publication: Incorporating Peasants’ Rights to Seeds in European Law, 2021 (available in FR, EN, ES, RO, DE)
Factsheet: New GMOs, patents on seeds and peasants’ rights to seeds, 2020 (available in FR, EN, ES)