The European Parliament has given its final approval in Brussels to a new legal framework for plants produced using new breeding techniques (new genomic techniques, NGTs). At second reading, Parliament adopted the regulation that were the subject of trilogue negotiations with the Member States and the European Commission in December 2025. The Council gave its final approval to the regulation in April 2026. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) welcomes this step, having actively advocated at European level for a reform of legislation governing genetic engineering in recent years.

The adopted regulation provides for simplified rules concerning so-called NGT-1 plants that could also have been produced using conventional breeding methods. These plants will no longer have to comply with the strict authorisation and labelling requirements that will continue to apply to other plants produced using new breeding techniques (NGT-2). In future, the EU will assess plants more based on their characteristics than on the breeding method used.

“Following the initial political breakthrough in December 2025, when the Council and Parliament arrived at a provisional agreement, we hoped for swift approval by the EU institutions in the interests of science,” said DFG President Prof. Dr. Katja Becker. “I’m delighted that this has now been achieved without further amendments. From mid-2028, when the regulation comes into force, researchers will now be able to conduct field trials much more easily, for example to improve plants’ resilience to climate change and resistance to pests. This will mean that new breeding techniques can become one of the tools for securing stable and increasing yields while reducing the use of pesticides.”

“In this way we can help safeguard food security, sustainability and adaptation to climate change in Europe,” added Prof. Dr. Axel Brakhage, Chair of the DFG Senate Commission on Genetic Research. He reiterated: “From a scientific perspective, genome-edited plants whose genetic modifications could also have arisen naturally or through conventional breeding techniques do not pose any specific risks. In our view, they can be treated in the same way as conventionally bred varieties.”

The classification of NGT-1 plants as adopted in the regulation reflects this scientific assessment, thereby overcoming the strictly process-based regulatory approach that has significantly restricted research and innovation to date. The newly adopted legal framework provides researchers and breeders in Germany and Europe with reliable prospects. It facilitates field trials, strengthens competitiveness and establishes the conditions for developing more robust, sustainably produced crops that can contribute to the objectives of the EU’s Vision for Agriculture and Food.