FR / NGTs: Reactions from agricultural trade unions and industry representatives to the Parliament's vote

“This vote by the European Parliament represents a major step forward for farmers, who need effective solutions to tackle crop diseases and increasingly frequent droughts. NGTs will not address all the challenges facing farms, but they do offer concrete prospects for significantly reducing the risk of losses over a production cycle,” stated the French agricultural trade union FNSEA on 17 June 2026.

On the same day, legislation on NGTs, “facilitating access to new climate- and pest-resistant plants that offer higher yields and require fewer pesticides”, was adopted by the European Parliament during its plenary session. The regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and will apply two years later.

“This amounts to the establishment of a monopoly on seed. It will be a disaster for all those in the agricultural sector, who will struggle to find unpatented seed suited to their farming practices,” said the CNDSF (National Coordination for the Defence of Farmers’ Seed).

“The CGB welcomes the responsible and necessary vote by a…