In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Péter Magyar, three environmental advocacy groups are calling on the government to protect Hungary’s GMO-free status and to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union against the deregulation of new genetic engineering techniques (NGT), one of the signatory organizations, the National Society of Conservationists (MTVSZ), told MTI on Thursday.
According to Greenpeace Hungary, the Hungarian Bioculture Association, and the National Society of Conservationists (MTVSZ), the recently adopted EU regulation would exempt some NGTs from the current GMO authorization, risk assessment, and labeling rules, but this does not mean they should be considered GMO-free, as the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in 2018.
The new EU regulations classify plants created using new gene editing techniques into two categories. Plants created through “minor” gene editing equivalent to traditional breeding (NGT-1) are exempt from strict GMO regulations, while those in the NGT-2 category remain subject to the strict rules.
In the civil society organizations’ view,
the new regulations would weaken consumer labeling and traceability, while the preliminary risk assessment of plants classified as NGT-1 would also be weakened.
This raises not only consumer protection concerns but also other risks.
This could have particularly serious consequences for organic farmers, as the use of GMOs remains prohibited in organic production, while weakened labeling and traceability standards would make it more difficult for them to prove that their products are not genetically modified. In the statement, Ákos Éger from the National Society of Conservationists emphasized that maintaining GMO-free agriculture is a commitment Hungary has upheld for several decades, one that is enshrined in the Fundamental Law.
Hungary must stand firm in ensuring that genetically modified crops are not allowed onto farmland or into the food chain without proper labeling and risk assessment.
The organizations also point out that, in the April EU Council vote, Hungary, together with Austria, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, voted against the GMO Regulation. In their view, these countries could be natural allies for Hungary in a joint legal action.
The three organizations are calling on the Hungarian government to initiate consultations with the member states that oppose the legislation and bring a legal challenge against the NGT regulation before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Via MTI; Featured photo: Pixabay