EU call for evidence on how GE plants reach the market
The European Commission has opened two calls for evidence on the technical rules that will determine how the EU's new gene-editing law will work in practice. Anyone with relevant expertise (such as plant breeding, food supply chains, or the governance of biotechnology) has until 28 September 2026 to respond.
Context for the calls
In June 2026, the EU Parliament adopted new regulations (Regulation 2026/1388) to replace the EU's long-standing GMO framework for plants with a tiered approach. This change brought with it two categories for regulation:
- Category 1 (NGT-1): plants whose genetic changes could equally have arisen through conventional breeding or natural mutation. These products will be regulated as conventionally-bred crops.
- Category 2 (NGT-2): plants with more complex modifications, which remain inside the existing GMO authorisation regime.
The EU Commission published an implementation plan to deploy the new NGT framework by July 2028. Part of that pathway involves specifying what evidence confirms a plant belongs in category 1, and what a category 2 dossier must contain to satisfy European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) GMO risk assessment.
A call for evidence
The first step of the new regulatory implementation plan is a "call for evidence" from experts. This stage proceeds a formal draft act, which will be opened for a further round of feedback before the Commission adopts it (estimated for the first quarter of 2028).
On 31 August 2026, the Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) published two linked calls for evidence, open for comment until 28 September 2026:
Information requirements and verification of category 1 status: A delegated act that will specify what information a breeder or developer must submit to demonstrate that a plant qualifies as a category 1 NGT plant. This call will also set out how patent information must be declared alongside a verification request.
Applications for category 2 plants and their products: An implementing act setting out the information required for the risk assessment and authorisation of category 2 NGT plants and products before commercial and environmental release.
The above the forms will inform the evidence thresholds, and procedural steps for regulators to use. The aim is to give operators "clarity and predictability" on how to prepare verification requests and applications, and to support Member State authorities and the EFSA in implementing the regulation.
A short background note accompanies each initiative (Ares(2026)8283054), and both are covered by the Commission's 31 August news announcement.
Who should consider engaging
Experts well placed to comment are those who will use or be affected by the resulting rules. This could include:
- Plant breeders, seed companies and agri-biotech developers, particularly those with NGT products already in the pipeline, who need to know what a verification or authorisation dossier will realistically require.
- Farmer organisations and cooperatives, especially those managing coexistence between NGT and non-NGT (including organic) production, who have a direct interest in how traceability and labelling thresholds are set.
- Researchers and academic institutions working on genome editing, agricultural policy, or regulatory science.
- Food and feed businesses supply chain actors who will need confidence in how category 1 products are traced and how NGT-free categories influence their products.
- National competent authorities and EFSA, who will apply these procedures in practice and have direct operational experience of what information is needed for verification and risk assessment.
- Patent and IP specialists, given that the category 1 delegated act specifically addresses how patent information must be declared alongside verification requests.
- Non-EU stakeholders with a trade or research interest, since alignment with the EU's category 1/2 system and other jurisdictions' frameworks will influence future cross-border seed trade, varietal approvals, and research collaboration.
- Environmental and consumer organisations, interested in management and transparency of plant biotechnology management, and how category verification is defined and evidenced.
When to provide evidence by
Both calls for evidence close on 28 September 2026.
Submissions are made directly through the Have Your Say portal (registration or a social media login is required). Feedback received is published on the site, alongside a running tally of submissions by respondent type.