site.btaAgriculture Minister Says Bulgaria Will Continue to Abstain on NGT Plants

Agriculture and Food Minister Kiril Vatev said Bulgaria would continue to abstain on new genomic techniques (NGT) until there is compelling proof for or against the proposed Regulation. Vatev's Ministry quoted his comment on Bulgaria's position and future actions regarding the proposal for a Regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed, which was adopted by the European Parliament on first reading on February 7.

Still, Bulgaria's vote is not decisive at EU level, its weight being 1.53%.

Vatev said it would be premature to take a poll on the matter in Bulgaria because people do not distinguish between NGT and GMO. "Bulgarian society needs truthful and correct information in order to get the real picture," he said.

"Meanwhile, all of Europe is losing market position because of overly ambitious green policies. At the same time, it imports soybean meal from Latin America and the US as animal feed," Vatev said. The big dispute in the EU is about patents, lest someone monopolizes certain varieties through NGT. "That's why we mention expressly that we insist small variety selection companies should be able to work," the Agriculture Minister said.

In a written opinion, Bulgaria has stated it is in favour of indicating on the label that a product contains NGT plants.

"Instead of creating and selling Bulgarian-made varieties, this country's agriculture is entirely dependent on imports. Our own seed production is between 1% and 3%," Vatev commented, stressing that this should be a priority as the battle is for a market for seeds and planting material.

On February 7, the European Parliament adopted its negotiating position with the Member States on the European Commission's proposal on NGTs, which alter the genetic material of an organism, with 307 votes to 263 and 41 abstentions. Eleven Bulgarian MEPs voted against and six abstained. Two did not vote.

At present, all NGT plants are subject to the same rules as GMOs. MEPs accepted the proposal for two different categories and two sets of rules for NGT plants. NGT plants which are deemed to be equivalent to conventionally bred plants (Category 1 NGT plants) would be exempt from the requirements of GMO legislation, whereas for all other NGT plants (Category 2 NGT plants), the requirements of the current GMO legislation would apply. MEPs agreed to maintain GMO legislation for NGT-2 plants, including mandatory labelling on all parts and traceability requirements. However, to promote their uptake, NGT-2 plants will be subject to an accelerated procedure for risk assessment.

Hristo Daskalov MP of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria said Bulgaria's decision to abstain was the most correct position under the circumstances.