On 28 January 2026 the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment (ENVI) gave the green light to the draft new regulation on new genomic techniques also known as “NGT Regulation”, marking an important step forward towards its formal adoption.

The draft NGT Regulation is the result of several years of negotiations that ended with an agreement between the European Commission, the European Council and members of the European Parliament reached on 3 December 2025 (read our news item).

Once approved, the new legislation which includes provisions on patentability, as well as on traceability and sustainability, of plants obtained using NGT technology, is expected to benefit innovators in the plant breeding industry, opening up markets in the European Union for the biotech and agritech sectors.

According to unofficial sources, the final adoption of the regulation could take place in Spring 2026.

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