By Policy Analyst Natasha Foote

April is set to be a big month for EU seed policy.

First, mark April 21st in your calendars with a big, red circle – this will be the next (and perhaps final) milestone meeting for negotiators trying to seal a deal on the overhaul of the EU’s seed legislation.

A key issue still on the menu for discussion is marketing and exchange – or, in other words, which kind of exchanges fall under the scope of marketing. Seed organisation ARCHE NOAH warns that, without this clarification, “virtually any action – even the free distribution or transfer for conservation purposes” could constitute “marketing”.

It’s a clear faultline in discussions, with the European Parliament calling for clarity to protect non-commercial activities – such as those carried out by schools, local communities or small-scale initiatives – whilst the Council roots for a broader scope of application.

An EU diplomatic source close to the negotiations said that the Council’s aim is to find a compromise which “doesn’t create a parallel market” but still offers “flexibility” to farmers in a way that doesn’t leave the system open to loopholes to be exploited by bigger players.

One element moving the discussion along is considering farmer-to-farmer exchanges as “mutual aid” rather than an exchange, the diplomat added. This is something that has been called for by small farmers’ association ECVC. However, the diplomat called any monetary exchange a “hard red line” for the Council.

It also remains to be clarified who is permitted to pass on PRM for conservation purposes: the Parliament is calling for broad exemptions, whilst the Council wants to impose strict restrictions. Of particular relevance are so-called “conservation varieties”, varieties that are important for food security and climate adaptation.

The Council side argues that this can be circumnavigated via local and regional ‘derogations’ (exemptions) to the rules, arguing this would be quite a simple “notification” procedure.

Another key sticking point is in the horizontal so-called control regulation, the legal framework for monitoring, checks and controls on the ground. The sticking point here is, as often the case, money – namely, whether member states will be obliged to put a certain amount of money towards controlling the impacts of this on the ground. Insiders say EU countries are currently “50/50” on the issue.

Despite the differences remaining, an EU diplomatic source was confident about being about to cross all the “technical” parts of the discussions, and hopeful that the political elements of the file could also be overcome. “We’re hoping to be able to wrap this up in April,” he said, adding that it looks “optimistic”.

But there’s more fun to come that very same day, which will also likely be D-day (or V-day, depending which side of the battle you’re on) for the EU plans to loosen the rules on the use of new GMOs — the so-called new genetic technologies — but it’s not a done deal just yet.

The proposal still needs approval from the Parliament and a final green tick from the Council. The most likely timeline on the table is that Council vote is still set for 21 April. This should be followed by a committee vote (date tbc, around 4/5 May) and then the final vote in the May plenary in Strasbourg.

So could this be the final nail in the coffin for a GM-free Europe? Well, it’s not quite a done deal just yet.

There are plenty of lawmakers in the Parliament who are unhappy with the deal agreed back in December, which crosses a number of their red lines. This includes the use of patents as well as questions around sustainability definitions and breeders exemptions.

While it’s too early to say how it will play out, groups in the Parliament are mobilising to table amendments which — with a bit of luck and potentially support from both ends of the political spectrum — could just about be enough to put a spanner in the works.

In the event that an amendment passes, it would pass the process back to the Council for more negotiations. If it’s a major change, it would require more working on the file.

The chances are slim that could happen, but not impossible. Either way, the sealing of the changes in the coming months will present a major change for the EU’s seed and agrifood sector, opening the door to new genetic technologies.