[REPONSE] Question écrite prioritaire à la Commission P-004657/2021 du 13 octobre 2021 de Martin Häusling (Verts/ALE) – Recherche dans des méthodes fiables de détection et de traçabilité des nouvelles techniques génomiques

Niveau juridique : Union européenne

Texte de la question :

« According to the Commission’s study on new genomic techniques (NGT), a number of NGT plant products are already being commercialised or are close to being commercialised globally. So far, no NGT product has a GMO authorisation in the EU.

The Commission has recognised that the EU lacks analytical methods to detect the presence of unauthorised NGT plants in food or feed entering the EU market. It also recognises that current knowledge on the detection, identification and quantification of NGT products is mostly based on theoretical considerations and lacks experimental evidence. Many Member States and stakeholders have identified a pressing need for more research into reliable detection and traceability methods.

1. What was the level of EU funding under the seventh framework programme (2007‑2014) and Horizon 2020 (2014‑2020) that was spent on research into the detection, identification and quantification of NGT products ?

2. What are the results of the research projects dealing with these issues ?

3. Are there any planned or ongoing EU‑funded research projects in this area ? »

Supporters (1)

(1) This question is supported by Members other than the author : Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Tilly Metz (Verts/ALE), Anja Hazekamp (The Left), Manuel Bompard (The Left), Pascal Durand (Renew), Eleonora Evi (Verts/ALE), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Günther Sidl (S&D)

Réponse donnée par Mme Gabriel le 30 novembre 2021 au nom de la Commission européenne

« 1. In 2020, the Commission services carried out a portfolio analysis of EU funding for New Genomic Techniques (NGT)-related projects. These results provided a basis for the European Commission study on NGTs released on 29 April 2021 (1).

EU research and innovation (R&I) funding for NGT-related projects under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7, 2007-2014) and Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) amounted to EUR 3.2 billion, distributed among 1,021 projects. The analysis indicates that a number of these projects were dedicated to detection methods, regulatory-related issues, communication or ethics-related work-packages (2). It could be, however, that detection, identification and quantification of NGT products have been addressed in some additional projects as a dedicated task or work package, but this level of detail is difficult to extract with the existing knowledge extraction tools. Further information in relation to the FP7 and Horizon 2020 projects examined in the study and via which the metrics were derived, may be extracted via the Horizon Dashboard (3). Furthermore, project outcomes can be obtained via the CORDIS portal (4).

2. Scientific achievements were made in areas including improved detection methods and tools that can isolate, identify and characterize plant genes.

3. ERA CoBioTech is an ongoing EU Horizon 2020 research project that aims to identify and use the metabolic potential of genomic data. Under Horizon Europe, the call « New genomic techniques (NGT) : understanding benefits and risks – focus on bio-based innovation » (4) will focus on screening procedures, molecular tools and digital applications. »

(1) ec.europa.eu/food/plants/genetically-modified-organisms/new-techniques-biotechnology/ec-study-new-genomic-techniques_en

(2) These projects included ICON, MULTIBIOPRO, Pharma-Factory and ERA CoBioTech.

(3) ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/horizon-dashboard

(4) cordis.europa.eu/projects/en and cordis.europa.eu/project/id/722361

(4) ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl6-2021-zeropollution-01-08;callCode=null;freeTextSearchKeyword=new%20genomic%20techniques;matchWholeText=true;typeCodes=0,1,2;statusCodes=31094501,31094502,31094503;programmePeriod=null;programCcm2Id=null;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=null;destination=null;mission=null;geographicalZonesCode=null;programmeDivisionProspect=null;startDateLte=null;startDateGte=null;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;cpvCode=null;performanceOfDelivery=null;sortQuery=sortStatus;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState

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