World
Will European agriculture convert to new genomic techniques?
The European Union has just taken a step towards deregulating New Genomic Techniques used for the improvement of agricultural plants. The agrichemical sector argues that they are essential to ensuring the future of food production, but many remain sceptical.
In the late 20th century, genes from different species were introduced into seeds, creating Genetically Modified Organisms, known as GMOs. The aim of the technology is to develop more resilient plant lines and increase productivity.
About two decades ago, the European Union implemented strict rules to cover authorisation, labelling and risk assessment; but now it has proposed deregulation of New Genomic Techniques, which modify the plants’ own genes.
“The European Commission has decided to create two categories: one for products from these new techniques and one for the old ones, which will continue to be subject to the existing rules. However, some people think that these new types of GMOs carry the same risks as the old ones, with unpredictable impacts on the environment,” explains Robert Hodgson, who covers the issue for Euronews.
The controversy is likely to flare up again because this month the governments of the 27 member states reached an agreement on the proposal, and ministers will now have to reach a consensus with the European Parliament, which has a different position on thorny issues such as patents and labelling.
On a short tour of several cities, Euronews collected some European opinions. “I’m not totally against it. It would be important to do thorough research to determine if it has any side effects,” said a Berlin resident.
“In recent decades there has been a huge development of this technology and we still do not have full control over it,” said another from Warsaw (Poland).
“They need to be labelled, it’s absolutely necessary so that the consumer can have a choice. Personally, I wouldn’t buy them,” was the opinion of a passer-by in Lyon (France).
Biotechnology experts argue that these plant varieties will be more resistant to drought, pests and require less fertilizer. Health issues such as allergies are also being targeted, through low-gluten grains for example.
Detractors point to the risks: disruption of pollinating insects, contamination of organic agricultural products, reduced access to seeds for small farmers and unforeseen effects on human health.
Will patents lead to small farmers exclusion?
The European Council was divided on whether to allow patents, weighing arguments that this could restrict the choices available to farmers and create monopolies. It took almost a year for them to decide to allow patents, as long as their specific reporting requirements were met.
The European Parliament’s position is to completely ban patents, explained one of the shadow rapporteurs for the legislative review.
“If a few big international agrichemical groups have a monopoly on seeds, farmers will pay more, they won’t be able to choose and, above all, we will no longer be able to openly innovate on varieties,” said Christophe Clergeau, a French centre-left MEP.
Few member states have actually shown much interest in GM crops, Spain being the exception. In many countries, these techniques have even been banned, with governments exercising their right to opt-out, but this option may no longer exist for all categories.
“It was about ten years ago when this issue really became a political hot potato and there was a lot of public opposition in Europe. Governments demanded an opt-out and they granted it,” explains Hodgson, adding: “As plants in the new category will be largely equivalent to common natural plants, governments will no longer have the option of banning their cultivation.”
Parliamentarian Clergeau stresses that “we are at the beginning of this new technology”, arguing that the EU must be very careful because “when we intervene in nature, we trigger cascades of changes that can pose dangers to biodiversity”.
ADVERTISEMENTA new world of possibilities is rapidly opening up for food production, with researchers already exploring how generative artificial intelligence can be applied to the technology. Not without controversy!
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The self-styled “king” of Germany and three of his senior “subjects” were arrested for attempting to overthrow the state, according to media reports.
Peter Fitzek, 59, was taken into police custody during morning raids conducted Tuesday in seven German states, the BBC reported.
Fitzek’s group, the Reichsbürger, or “citizens of the Reich,” has also been banned by the government.
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Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed head of the so-called “Kingdom of Germany,” poses for a photo with the kingdom’s constitution in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 23, 2023. (Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images)
The group’s aim is to establish the Königreich Deutschland, or “Kingdom of Germany.”
“I have no interest in being part of this fascist and satanic system,” Fitzek previously told the news outlet in a 2022 interview.
Reichsbürgers reportedly have their own currency, flag and identification cards and want to set up separate banking and health systems.
The Reichsbürger undermined “the rule of law,” said Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s interior minister, by creating an alternative state and spreading “antisemitic conspiracy narratives to back up their supposed claim to authority,” the news report states.
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Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed head of the so-called “Kingdom of Germany,” shows the paper currency he created himself in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 23, 2023. (Jens Schlueter/AFP)
He said the group finances itself through crime.
Fitzek, who claims to have thousands of “subjects,” denied having violent intentions but also called Germany “destructive and sick.”
In 2022, dozens of people associated with the Reichsbürger were arrested for plotting to overthrow the German government in Berlin. They were accused of planning a violent coup, which included kidnapping the health minister in an effort to create “civil war conditions” to bring down German democracy, according to the BBC.
Self-made identity and banking documents of the so-called “Kingdom of Germany” are pictured in Wittenberg, Germany, Oct. 23, 2023. (Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images)
Once dismissed as eccentric by critics, the group is now seen within Germany as a serious threat as the far right has grown politically over the past decade, the report said.
After his trip to Belgrade, European Council President António Costa visited Sarajevo on Tuesday as part of his Balkans tour. He was given a warm reception upon his arrival before meeting with Bosnia’s presidency.
In a statement, the European Council chief announced that the EU “remains committed” to the country’s European future. He also praised Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović, and Željko Komšić — members of the Western Balkan country’s three-way presidency — for their role in maintaining stability and security in the country and the region.
Recently, tensions have been brewing domestically over the leader of the entity of the Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik’s actions, which the state-level authorities denounced for undermining the country’s constitutional order.
Western powers and the EU have condemned Dodik for his provocations after he had suggested that the Dayton Agreement, the peace agreement that formally ended the Bosnian War in 1995, had outlived its purpose.
In his statement, Costa underlined the importance of the Dayton accords, set to mark its 30th anniversary this year.
“And this year, on the 30th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide and the Dayton (and) Paris Agreement, I believe that it is an important message to remember,” said Costa.
Costa also outlined that some reforms are needed to ensure Bosnia remains on the path to EU membership.
“We need the approval of two judiciary laws, the appointment of a chief negotiator, and the adoption of the reform agenda to move towards on the Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European path.”
Bosnia is the only country that does not benefit from the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. Costa stressed that implementing these reforms is of paramount importance to ensure that Bosnia’s citizens benefit from the EU plan.
“I would like to see Bosnia and Herzegovina joining the other Western Balkans partners in profiting from all that the European Union has to offer,” the Council president noted.
Costa will next travel to Montenegro and Albania on Wednesday, for meetings with President Jakub Milatović in Podgorica and President Bajram Begaj in Tirana. He’ll conclude his tour with a visit to Skopje in North Macedonia, where he will meet Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
Additional sources • AP
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