Hungarian Presidency Minister to host annual Non-GMO Summit – Euractiv

István Nagy, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and current Chair of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Directorate, will deliver the opening address at the International Non-GMO Summit, which this year will focus on the political debate around New Genomic Technologies (NGT).

The Non-GMO Summit was held in Frankfurt, Germany, on October 7-8, and a press release issued on August 27 announced some of the speakers who would be attending the event.

The summit is the largest gathering of the non-GMO industry to promote the production of food and feed that does not use gene editing methods. The industry also ensures that non-GMO Labeling Program Electronic money used in different EU countries must meet a series of requirements.

The event organizers confirmed to Euractiv that Nagy was attending the event on behalf of the President of the European Council – A provocative choice given the deep divisions among member states on the issue of gene-edited plants. However, he will speak as a “state minister”, they added, especially since there is a lack of consensus in the committee on the new NGT regulations.

As of the time of publication, the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council has not responded to Euractiv’s request for further clarification.

In addition to Nagy, German State Secretary Silvia Bender – representing Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir – will also deliver an opening speech at the event. The press release states that the presence of these two officials highlights the “importance of the non-GMO industry in Europe.”

The non-GMO sector is particularly strong in Germany, where sales of “Ohne GenTechnik” foods reached a record €17.4 billion in 2023. Austria, where all milk and egg production is non-GMO, achieved sales of €2.5 billion.

Currently, the EU has approved only one GM crop, an insect-resistant variety of maize grown in Spain, but the bloc imports millions of tonnes of GM crops each year, mainly for animal feed.

Hungary’s firm stance on GMOs

Nagy’s opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is well known, stemming from Hungary’s constitutionwhich established the principle of “GMO-free” agriculture.

Budapest also opposes a European Commission proposal to liberalize the use of NGTs in the EU, which has been stalled in the Council for months.

This latest move is likely to cause friction within the Council, especially at a time when the EU presidency – often seen as an “honest” and “neutral” broker – is expected to lead negotiations among EU member states on new gas turbine engine rules.

But Hungary’s neutrality on the issue has been called into question.

In July, it proposed Restarting negotiations Re-drafting of the NGT law. This includes issues on which the Spanish and Belgian presidencies have reached a compromise, such as equivalence between NGT and traditional crops.

EU diplomats criticized Hungary’s approach, saying it left little room for progress.

(Editing by Angelo Di Mambro and Rajnish Singh)

Read more by Euractiv