Plant scientist explains the impact of the EU's new gene-editing rules Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor The European Union adopted new legislation on plants obtained through certain new genomic techniques in June 2026. The new framework will apply after a two-year transition period. It distinguishes between two categories.

Plants in Category 1 (NGT-1) have a limited number and type of genetic changes that could also occur naturally or through conventional breeding. Under the new legislation, they will largely be regulated like conventionally bred plants. Category 2 plants with more extensive or complex modifications will remain subject to the existing genetically modified organism (GMO) rules.

In this interview, Dr. Jürgen Kleine-Vehn, professor of molecular plant physiology, assesses the new EU regulations. What kind of plants are affected by the new EU decision?

A single tiny change to a plant's genome can already affect whether it copes better with drought, resists disease or flowers earlier than its sibling. Scientists call these changes mutations. In nature, such mutations occur all the time, for example, as a result of sunlight.

Plant breeders have been using mutations for a very long time in conventional and organic farming. In fact, many crops we grow today were created by inducing mutations with radiation or chemicals, and nobody would call those plants GMOs. The difference with genome editing is not the kind of change that is made, but how it is introduced.

Instead of using chemicals or radiation to create many random changes and then searching for a useful one, genome-editing tools such as CRISPR can introduce a small change at a specific place in the genome. In this targeted mutagenesis, the molecular tools are used only temporarily and do not remain in the final plant. The new regulations apply to these types of genetically modified plants.

Are those genetically modified plants safe for us to consume? The changes introduced by genome editing are molecularly identical to those that arise naturally or through conventional breeding. The method used to create them does not by itself establish a new category of biological risk.

This is the scientific basis for treating verified NGT-1 plants as comparable to conventionally bred plants. Based on this, the EU now regards NGT-1 plants as safe and has decided that they will no longer be regulated in the same way as GMOs. Plants that carry foreign DNA are still rigorously regulated under the existing GMO legislation.

When people think of genetic engineering in plants, many think of debates about Monsanto and the dependence of farmers on large agribusinesses. How valid are those concerns? These concerns are valid and should be taken seriously.

But they don't really start with genome editing. They're part of much bigger questions about how our agricultural systems are organized, who controls plant varieties and who benefits from innovation. Genome editing could help public research, smaller breeding programs and diverse farming systems develop more sustainable crops.

At the same time, patents and market concentration can reinforce existing imbalances.