On the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 94637 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council

B100186/2026

European Parliament resolution on the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 94637 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (D113501/03 – 2026/2651(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean MON 94637 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (D113501/03),

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed, and in particular Article 7(3) and Article 19(3) thereof,

– having regard to the vote of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed referred to in Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, on 27 February 2026, at which no opinion was delivered, and the vote of the Appeal Committee on 31 March 2026, at which again no opinion was delivered,

– having regard to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers,

– having regard to the opinion adopted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on 1 July 2025, and published on 23 October 2025,

– having regard to its previous resolutions objecting to the authorisation of genetically modified organisms (‘GMOs’),

– having regard to Rule 115(2) and (3) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety,

A. whereas the genetically modified soybean MON 94637 (the ‘GM soybean’) was developed to provide protection against certain lepidopteran pests through the expression of two newly designed chimeric Bt proteins, Cry1A.2 and Cry1B.2;

B. whereas on 1 July 2025 EFSA adopted a favourable opinion concluding that the GM soybean is as safe as its conventional counterpart and tested non-GM soybean varieties with respect to potential effects on human and animal health and the environment; whereas EFSA concluded that consumption of food and feed from the GM soybean does not represent a nutritional concern, and that accidental environmental exposure would not raise safety concerns;

C. whereas EFSA further concluded that the molecular characterisation and bioinformatic analyses did not identify issues requiring additional food or feed safety assessment and that no post-market monitoring of food or feed was considered necessary;

D. whereas, despite EFSA’s favourable assessment, scientific literature indicates that the newly designed chimeric Bt toxins Cry1A.2 and Cry1B.2 exhibit substantially enhanced insecticidal activity compared to their parental toxins, raising specific safety questions that have not been sufficiently addressed;

E. whereas the systematic literature review submitted by the applicant has been criticised for methodological shortcomings and for not adequately covering the full range of available scientific literature;

F. whereas the molecular characterisation of the GM soybean remains incomplete, as unintended genomic alterations and newly created open reading frames were not thoroughly investigated using the most advanced sequencing and ‘omics’ approaches;

G. whereas gene expression was assessed only under limited field conditions, namely one year and one country, without sufficient consideration of environmental stress factors or different genetic backgrounds, despite known variability in transgene expression;

H. whereas field trials supporting the application were limited in geographical and environmental scope and do not reflect the diversity of environmental conditions under which soybean may be cultivated or processed;

I. whereas most toxicological studies relied on microbially produced Bt proteins rather than plant-produced proteins, despite evidence that plant constituents such as protease inhibitors can enhance Bt toxicity;

J. whereas several statistically significant findings observed in the 28-day and 90-day toxicological studies did not trigger additional follow-up investigations;

K. whereas possible synergistic or combinatorial effects between the two Bt toxins, with plant compounds or with other stressors, were not adequately investigated;

L. whereas the environmental risk assessment does not sufficiently address potential exposure through spillage, manure or sewage, nor possible effects on non-target organisms;

M. whereas Parliament has repeatedly stressed that the Commission should not authorise GMOs in cases where no qualified majority is reached by Member States in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed or the Appeal Committee, in order to address the persistent democratic deficit;

N. whereas despite its own acknowledgement of the democratic shortcomings, the lack of support from Member States and the objections of Parliament, the Commission continues to authorise GMOs;

O. whereas the One Health approach requires taking into account the interdependence between human, animal, plant and environmental health when assessing the long-term sustainability and safety of GMOs;

1. Considers that the draft Commission implementing decision exceeds the implementing powers provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003;

2. Considers that the draft Commission implementing decision is not consistent with Union law, in that it is incompatible with the aim of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, which is, in accordance with the general principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, to provide the basis for ensuring a high level of protection of human life and health, animal health and welfare, and environmental and consumer interests, in relation to GM food and feed, while ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market;

3. Considers that the risk assessment remains incomplete, in particular with regard to molecular characterisation, toxicological assessment and environmental risk assessment;

4. Calls on the Commission to withdraw its draft implementing decision;

5. Calls on the Commission not to authorise the GM soybean due to the lack of sufficient evidence on long-term impacts on biodiversity, food safety, farmers’ livelihoods and animal health, in line with the One Health approach;

6. Calls on the Commission to submit, without delay, a legislative proposal to reform the decision-making procedure on GMOs in order to respond to the consistent objections of Parliament and the lack of qualified majority support among Member States;

7. Highlights, in this regard, that authorising the import for food or feed uses of any GM plant which has been made tolerant to herbicides that are banned in the Union, such as glufosinate, is incoherent with the Union’s international commitments under, inter alia, the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the Kunming-Montreal Framework, and that it creates an uneven playing field for Union farmers;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.