NGT Deregulation Nears Final Vote as Concerns Grow Over Transparency, Patents and Pollinator Protection

Language Note: this article is originally written in English. Automated translations may contain inaccuracies. For precise information, please refer to the English text. We appreciate your patience. The EU is approaching a final vote on new rules that would deregulate most genetically modified crops developed through New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). Critics warn the proposal would remove labelling, traceability and risk assessment for the majority of these products - raising concerns for transparency, pollinators and farmers.

What is at stake in the EU’s NGT regulation 

The European Union is entering the final phase of adopting its new regulation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), a legislative proposal that could significantly reshape the rules governing genetically modified plants in Europe.

Ahead of a key European Parliament vote on 17 June, civil society organisations, farmers, beekeepers and environmental groups are raising concerns that the current proposal would remove important safeguards for the majority of NGT-derived plants, including traceability, risk assessment, labelling and post-market monitoring.

For critics, this is not simply a technical reform. It is a decision that could affect transparency, biodiversity, consumer rights, farmers’ autonomy and the future of pollinator-dependent food systems.

A decisive moment for EU food policy

Under the proposed framework, NGT-1 plants — expected to represent the vast majority of future gene-edited crops — would be treated similarly to conventional plants and exempt from:

• risk assessment;

• traceability requirements;

• consumer labelling (except for seeds);

• post-market monitoring.

Only a smaller category of NGT products would remain subject to existing GMO legislation.

Supporters argue that these changes could accelerate innovation and reduce administrative burdens. However, many organisations warn that removing these safeguards would create significant transparency gaps and limit the ability of authorities, farmers and researchers to monitor potential impacts over time.

Patents, transparency and consumer choice

The debate extends beyond science and agriculture.

Several organisations have expressed concerns that the proposal could increase the influence of a small number of multinational seed companies through patent protection on NGT-derived plants.

At the same time, the removal of mandatory labelling for most NGT products would reduce the information available to consumers.

For more than two decades, surveys have consistently shown strong public support for GMO transparency. More than 85% of European citizens support mandatory GMO labelling, including for products developed through new genomic techniques, while hundreds of thousands have signed petitions calling for the right to know what is in their food.

Civil society mobilises: “Blacked-Out Ingredients”

In response, a coalition of 52 environmental, consumer, farming and civil society organisations has launched the campaign “Blacked-Out Ingredients – Label gene-edited food!”.

The campaign's message is simple: consumers should not lose their right to know how their food is produced.

Using food labels with blacked-out ingredients as its visual symbol, the initiative highlights what campaigners see as the central issue in the current proposal: the gradual removal of transparency from the food chain.

As the final vote approaches, organisations across Europe are mobilising citizens and decision-makers to preserve traceability, labelling and accountability mechanisms.

Why BeeLife is concerned

Pollinators, beekeepers and ecosystems could be affected by the removal of monitoring and traceability requirements.

Bees and other insect pollinators move freely across landscapes, collecting nectar and pollen from a wide range of plants. Without traceability mechanisms, it becomes impossible to know where NGT crops are being cultivated or whether pollinators are interacting with them.

BeeLife also highlights a broader concern: without systematic risk assessment and post-market monitoring, potential unintended changes in plant traits could remain undetected. These may include characteristics relevant to pollinators, such as flowering periods, flower morphology, or the quantity and composition of nectar and pollen.

In practice, this could create what BeeLife describes as a structural blind spot for pollinator protection, making it harder to identify, assess and manage potential environmental impacts.

Legal uncertainty for beekeepers and farmers

The proposal also raises questions about legal certainty.

According to BeeLife's analysis, a regulatory contradiction could emerge whereby NGT-1 plants circulate freely without traceability requirements, while products derived from ecosystems exposed to those plants — including honey and other hive products — may still face legal and market uncertainties under existing food legislation.

Without effective detection and traceability tools, farmers, beekeepers and food producers could find themselves responsible for managing risks that they have little ability to identify or control.

This concern is particularly relevant in sectors that depend on consumer confidence, product origin and GMO-free production standards.

A mobilisation in Strasbourg

One day before the European Parliament vote, on 16 June, farmers, beekeepers, environmental organisations and citizens from across Europe will gather in Strasbourg to call for greater transparency and stronger safeguards.

The coalition argues that innovation and sustainability should not be presented as opposing goals. Instead, they maintain that technological developments must be accompanied by traceability, accountability and the precautionary principle.

A turning point

The upcoming vote represents a pivotal moment for European agriculture and food policy.

At stake is not only the future regulation of NGTs, but also a broader question: how should innovation be governed when it affects biodiversity, food systems, pollinators and public trust?

For BeeLife and many civil society organisations, the answer remains clear: innovation can only succeed if it is accompanied by transparency, traceability and the ability to monitor its impacts over time.

👉 Discover the “Blacked-Out Ingredients – Label gene-edited food!” campaign.

👉 Read BeeLife’s policy brief on the implications of NGT deregulation for pollinators and beekeeping.