1 October: 11:00 – 15:30 hrs GMT+2
2 October: 12:30 – 17:00 hrs GMT+2

In light of the ECJ Judgment of 25 July 2018 in Case C-528/16 on the interpretation of the GMO Directive 2001/18/EC, the European Council asked the EC on 8 November 2019 to submit by April 2021 a study on the “status of novel genomic techniques under Union law”. If recommendable, the study shall include a “proposal” that might transcend into a legislative proposal amending the existing EU regulatory framework on GMOs. A comprehensive review of foreign regulatory frameworks should form an important part of the factual foundations of this study.

Taking notice of the diversity of reactions to the ECJ Judgement from local to EU-level and from business to consumers, the German Science Academies and the German Research Foundation (DFG) decided to bring light into the debate through scientific evidence-based facts. Hence, they released a report drawn up by an interdisciplinary group of experts in the field. This report calls for a more differentiated approach to regulation of GMOs in Europe, stressing the need to develop a forward-looking new regulatory framework, and to insert scientific facts into the design of policy and regulation.
 
The meeting intends to be an agora for discussing the latest aspects of GMOs in Europe and the world, focussing on the prospects of EU regulation in the field and on the optimal use of scientific findings in policy design and consumer protection. Additionally, the report commissioned by the German Science Academies and the German Research Foundation will be presented.