On 4 December 2025, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a comprehensive framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). The deal modernises EU agrifood rules and positions NGTs as a cornerstone for competitiveness, sustainability, and climate-resilient agriculture.
How We Got Here – A Compressed Overview
Since 2023, the EU Commission has sought to update genetically modified organism (GMO) legislation to account for precision-breeding methods such as targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis (insertion of DNA from related species, i.e., insertions that could have occurred via natural breeding techniques). The proposal introduced Category 1 (NGT-1) plants and Category 2 (NGT-2) plants.
NGT-1 plants are equivalent to conventional plants. This means they could also occur naturally or be generated through conventional breeding techniques, and includes progeny obtained by conventional breeding of such NGT plants.
NGT-2 plants are all other NGT plants (i.e., NGT plants that are not Category 1 plants). These are more complex or “less natural-equivalent” modifications than NGT-1 plants.
Progress stalled in 2024 when Parliament pushed for an extensive patent ban, which was an approach many Member States opposed. Only in March 2025 did the Council secure a negotiating mandate by replacing the proposed patent ban with stronger transparency requirements. This opened the door to trilogue negotiations and ultimately to the current compromise.
For more details regarding the Commission’s proposal, the exact NGT definitions and the previously proposed patent ban, please read our client alert.
What Has Been Provisionally Agreed Upon?
The provisional agreement retains the principles of the Commission’s proposal from March 2025. According to this, neither NGT-1 plants nor their non-seed products will generally need to be labelled, though seeds and other reproductive material will require labelling. National authorities must verify that a plant qualifies as Category 1, but once granted, offspring do not require repeated verification.
Notably, traits conferring herbicide tolerance or the production of a known insecticidal substance cannot be classed as Category 1, but instead must be treated under the stricter Category 2 rules.
NGT-2 plants will remain subject to the existing GMO legislation, including mandatory safety assessments, authorisation procedures, traceability, and product labelling.
Member States may prohibit cultivation of NGT-2 plants in their territory. In addition, Member States may take optional coexistence measures to prevent the unintended presence of NGT-2 plants.
Transparency Prevails Over Bans
Contrary to earlier proposals, the new agreement does also not include a patent ban. Rather, transparency requirements will be created. When seeking registration of a Category 1 NGT product, companies or breeders must disclose all existing or pending patents, and this information must be included in a publicly accessible database. In addition, a patenting expert group will be created, and the Commission will publish a study one year after the entry into force of the regulation on the effects of patents on innovation of NGT plants, seed availability, and competitiveness of the plant breeding sector.
What Happens Next?
Formal adoption by the Council and Parliament is still required. National implementation, patent-impact findings, and public acceptance will determine how far the new rules encourage innovation and uptake.
For breeders, researchers, and agtech companies, the agreement offers long-awaited regulatory clarity and an opportunity to accelerate development of climate-resilient, resource-efficient crops.
