EU agreement on a regulatory framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs)
On January 28, 2026, the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI Committee) approved the trilogue compromise by a strong majority (47–31) vote.
The vote follows an agreement in December 2025 by the European Council and the European Parliament on a provisional agreement on a comprehensive regulatory framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).
The framework creates a two-tier system:
- Category 1 NGT plants: Those which could occur naturally or by conventional breeding will not be considered as GMOs. They will only have to undergo a verification procedure, and will not need to be risk-assessed and authorised.
- Category 2 NGT plants: Those where changes could not occur naturally or through conventional breeding will have to comply with the existing GMO rules, including risk assessment and authorisation.
The regulation excludes herbicide-tolerant traits from the NGT-1 category. Any plant modified for herbicide tolerance will automatically be classified as NGT-2.
NGTs will remain prohibited in organic production. The regulation introduces mandatory labelling for all NGT seeds and plant reproductive material, regardless of category.
A vote in plenary is tentatively scheduled for 18 May 2026.
The timeline
- Provisional agreement (trilogue) early December 2025: The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal (with the European Commission welcoming it).
- Committee endorsement 28 January 2026: ENVI endorsed that deal, allowing the file to proceed under an “early second reading” type pathway
- Council endorsement 14 March 2025: The Council endorsed its negotiating mandate.
- Still to come: formal adoption steps: European Parliament final votes are still pending, tentatively scheduled for 18 May 2026.
Further reading: