On Monday 27 April 2026, Meng Landwirtschaft, a coalition of organisations in Luxembourg focused on agriculture, food systems and environmental policy, called on Luxembourg’s Members of the European Parliament to stop the deregulation of plants from new genetic engineering.
In a press release, Meng Landwirtschaft said it “regretted” that on Tuesday 21 April the European Council approved a proposal between the EU Commission, EU Council and EU Parliament on the authorisation of plants grown using so-called “new genomic techniques” (NGT).
The organisations represented within the Meng Landwirtschaft platform have now called on Luxembourg’s Members of the European Parliament to reject this proposal, which is expected to be put to a vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament during the week beginning 18 May 2026.
According to the coalition, the European Union has been negotiating since 2023 on a draft regulation concerning plants obtained using so-called “new genomic techniques” (NGT). The aim is to exempt a large proportion of these plants from existing EU requirements for genetically modified organisms.
Meng Landwirtschaft highlighted that, as a result of the regulation, mandatory consumer labelling, traceability, risk assessment, as well as the provision of appropriate detection methods, would be abolished. At the same time, patenting is to remain fully unrestricted.
Meng Landwirtschaft detailed that new genetic engineering techniques allow for a far deeper intervention in the characteristics of species and their ecosystems than would be expected with conventional breeding and evolutionary processes. It stressed this not only raises environmental risks related to the specific NGT plant but also creates a cascade of risks for ecosystems, becoming a new cause for species extinction and threatening food security.
Meng Landwirtschaft said: “[We] regret that the Luxembourg Government has approved the compromise proposal. While previous governments consistently upheld the precautionary principle regarding genetically modified plants and opposed the release of GMOs, the current Government is making a paradigm shift: it is undermining a scientifically grounded approach to the risks of genetic engineering and is taking away the right of citizens to decide what they wish to eat. Beneficiaries will be agricultural corporations such as Bayer-Monsanto or KWS, which will push their patented seeds onto the market, to the detriment of farmers as well as independent breeders.”
It added: “Despite repeated requests, the Minister for Agriculture has also shown no interest in engaging with civil society. Meetings were also requested with Members of the European Parliament.”
Meng Landwirtschaft called on all consumers in Luxembourg to urge Luxembourg’s Members of the European Parliament to reject the compromise proposal on the deregulation of NGTs in the upcoming vote in mid-May. The NGO “Save Our Seeds” has created an email tool for citizens to contact Members of the European Parliament regarding the vote. It is accessible at https://www.saveourseeds.org/no-gmos-through-the-back-door/.
