Schultz and Klöckner disagree on new genetic engineering. Fie Press

BERLIN (DPA) – Federal Environment Minister Sveja Schulz (SPD) said in a position paper on Tuesday that new processes such as the so-called Crisp gene gene should be designated as genetic engineering.

“Every genetically modified product in the European Union must continue to be tested and labeled for its risk,” Schulz emphasized. The SPD politician said, “This much-discussed question about genome editing processes like Crisp / Cas was finally decided by the European Court of Justice in 2018.” “This applies without exception, including new genetic engineering. Because what has once permeated the environment can never be attained. “

In 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that new techniques such as gene scissors are also considered genetic engineering and therefore strictly regulated. However, whether this equation is justified is controversial. A study by the European Union Commission on Friday concerning the regulation of new genetic engineering processes. “It is currently not quite clear what will come out on Friday,” Schultz said. Nevertheless, the Minister of the Environment sees efforts to redefine new genetic engineering “with astonishment” at this time.

Agriculture Minister Julia Kloecker (CDU) said, “If you don’t just say what you don’t want, then the conflict of goals cannot be resolved.” The CDU politician said that Schulz’s argument is “from a state of abundance.” “But anyone who wants to keep harvesting stable, who want to significantly reduce pesticide use, and who in turn expect climate stability from plants, such as these technologies, without consuming much water resources Can not dismiss. “

In response to Schulz, the German Farmers’ Association also demanded that farmers “urgently need new breeding techniques” “so that a more resistant crop can be obtained quickly”. It is also important for environmental protection: “If a plant can protect itself from diseases and pests, it does not need chemical pesticides.”

“Genetic engineering is genetic engineering”, the motto of the Association for Food with Genetic Engineering (VLOG). His managing director Alexander Hasting stressed that it was “necessary” for consumers that new methods such as gene scissors “continue to be regarded as genetic engineering without exception”. “Otherwise transparency, permeability and freedom of choice will be lost.”