Sittings · Document

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (D115873/01 – 2026/2783 (RSP)) 2026-09-02

On the draft Commission implementing decision authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified soybean GMB151 x DAS-44406-6 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council

Plenary sitting · Rapporteur: Sirpa Pietikäinen, Biljana Borzan, Martin Häusling, Anja Hazekamp

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Parliament's resolution objects to a draft Commission implementing decision that would authorise imports of food, food ingredients and feed containing genetically modified soybean GMB151 x DAS-44406-6. It says the draft decision exceeds the Commission's implementing powers and conflicts with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, and calls on the Commission to withdraw it and not to authorise the soybean. It asks the Commission to propose without delay a reform of the GMO decision-making procedure, citing Parliament's repeated objections and the absence of a qualified majority among member states. It argues that authorising imports of a herbicide-tolerant crop is inconsistent with Union international commitments and disadvantages Union farmers, and that the precautionary principle should apply.

Key points

  1. Parliament considers that the draft Commission implementing decision exceeds the implementing powers provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.
  2. It considers the draft decision incompatible with the aim of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, which is to ensure a high level of protection of human and animal health, animal welfare, and environmental and consumer interests.
  3. It calls on the Commission to withdraw its draft implementing decision.
  4. It calls on the Commission not to authorise the GM soybean, citing insufficient evidence on long-term impacts on biodiversity, food safety, farmers' livelihoods and animal health, in line with the One Health approach.
  5. It calls on the Commission to submit without delay a legislative proposal to reform the GMO decision-making procedure, responding to Parliament's objections and the lack of qualified majority support among member states.
  6. It states that authorising imports of GM plants made tolerant to herbicides banned in the Union, such as glufosinate, is inconsistent with Union commitments under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the Kunming-Montreal Framework.
  7. It finds that the GM soybean was developed by crossing two events and expresses five proteins conferring resistance to plant parasitic nematodes and tolerance to glufosinate-based, 2,4-D based and glyphosate based herbicides.
  8. It notes that EFSA's risk assessments did not include long-term toxicological studies or detailed analysis of cumulative and combinatorial effects, including interactions with pesticide residues.
  9. It finds that herbicide-tolerant GM crops lead to higher use of complementary herbicides and lock farmers into herbicide-dependent weed management, worsening soil health, water quality and biodiversity.
  10. It notes that glufosinate is classified as toxic to reproduction 1B, meets the cut-off criteria in Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, and that its approval for use in the Union expired on 31 July 2018.
  11. It points to persisting scientific uncertainty on glyphosate's safety, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer's 2015 classification as a probable carcinogen and the retraction of a 2000 safety paper.
  12. It notes that assessment of herbicide residues and metabolites on GM plants falls outside EFSA's remit, that monitoring of effects on biodiversity, soil health, pollinators and non-target organisms is insufficient, and that the precautionary principle should apply.

Who is affected

  • Union farmers, who the resolution says would face a competitive disadvantage from imports not meeting Union standards.
  • The Commission, which is asked to withdraw the draft decision, not to authorise the soybean, and to propose a reform of the GMO decision-making procedure.
  • Member states, whose Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed delivered no opinion on 10 June 2026.
  • Countries growing the herbicide-tolerant GM soybean, where the resolution says human, animal and environmental exposure to glyphosate and glufosinate would increase.

Figures and deadlines

  • 29 May 2024: date BASF SE submitted the application to Belgium's national competent authority.
  • 10 December 2025: date EFSA adopted its opinion; published on 27 January 2026.
  • 10 June 2026: date of the Standing Committee vote at which no opinion was delivered.
  • 31 July 2018: date the approval of glufosinate for use in the Union expired.
  • November 2015: EFSA concluded glyphosate was unlikely to be carcinogenic; March 2017: the European Chemicals Agency concluded no classification was warranted.
  • 2015: the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen for humans.
  • 2000: year the retracted paper 'Safety Evaluation and Risk Assessment of the Herbicide Roundup and Its Active Ingredient, Glyphosate, for Humans' was published.

Legal basis: Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, cited for the precautionary principle.

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