Today, in a joint appeal, 35 civil society organisations from 12 countries are addressing Members of European Parliament. The call is a reaction to a Commission proposal which would drastically lower safety standards for the environmental release of genetically engineered bacteria, yeasts, algae and viruses. The signatories urge the Parliament to reject or at least substantially amend the proposal.
The organisations come from the fields of environment, consumers, agriculture, beekeeping, food production and science. They argue it would be irresponsible to lower the safety standards while the technology is evolving at a rapid pace and is driven by synergies with artificial intelligence. This convergence makes it possible to create previously unknown life forms.
Generally, current knowledge regarding the number and characteristics of microbial species is very limited, the structure of their communities and their interactions with the environment are extremely complex. Many microorganisms can exchange genetic material across species boundaries and the spread of microorganisms can hardly be restricted or controlled once they have been released into the environment.
In December 2025, the European Commission published a proposal to allow fast track approvals for genetically engineered microbes with supposedly ‘low risks’. It includes lower standards for risk assessment and monitoring, market authorisations without time limitations and releases without detection methods and monitoring.
The proposal is currently under discussion at the European Parliament. Several Members of Parliament have presented amendments and the signing organisations hope that the worst case can still be prevented.
Contact:
Christoph Then, info@testbiotech.org, Tel +49 151 54638040
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