European Parliament Approves New Genomic Techniques

The European Parliament has this week approved the regulation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). These rules had already been provisionally agreed with the Council in December 2025.

The legislation changes how plants are regulated by focusing on the genetic characteristics of the final plant, rather than the method used to produce it.

A key feature of the new framework is the division of NGT plants into two categories, each with different legal requirements.

NGT-1 covers plants with a limited number and type of genetic changes that could also occur through conventional breeding. Once verified as meeting the criteria for NGT‑1 status, these plants will be treated in the same way as traditionally bred varieties. However, the Parliament has specified that plants engineered to tolerate herbicides or to produce insecticidal substances cannot qualify as NGT‑1.

NGT-2 applies to plants with more extensive or complex genetic modifications. These will remain subject to the EU’s existing, stricter GMO rules, including mandatory risk assessments and a requirement for authorisation before they can be placed on the market.

The rules apply both to plants produced within the EU and to those imported.

For NGT‑2 plants, traceability and labelling will continue to be compulsory, and Member States will retain the ability to restrict or ban them within their own territories, even if they are approved at EU level. NGT‑1 plants, by contrast, will be listed in a public database, and all seed bags or other reproductive material will be labelled accordingly.

The regulation aims to encourage the use of NGTs to develop crops with sustainability benefits, such as improved resilience to climate change or pests. As a result, there will be close monitoring of the environmental and sustainability impacts of these plants.

NGTs will not be permitted in organic production systems. However, the unintended presence of NGT‑1 material — where technically unavoidable — will not automatically render products non‑compliant. There will also be a review of whether the new rules impose administrative, economic or other burdens on organic operators.

Patenting of NGTs will be allowed, although this will not extend to traits or genetic sequences that occur naturally or can be produced through biological processes. Safeguards have been included to prevent excessive market concentration and to ensure fair access and affordability for farmers, who will continue to have the right to save and replant seeds.