Inquiries on genetic engineering from the end of 2020 to the Bundestag/the Federal Government

Firstly, the FDP parliamentary group, among others, has proposed (Document 19/23694) that the Bundestag should declare that, with the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene scissors, new breeding methods for agriculture should be accorded greater importance and should actually be made available to European agriculture in order to ensure everyone has access to sufficient, high-quality food. The Bundestag should advocate at the European level for a technology-neutral revision of EU genetic engineering law that does justice to the actual risks and opportunities of new breeding methods for genome editing. Research projects for new breeding methods should receive greater support, and a public awareness campaign should be initiated about the opportunities and risks of new breeding methods for humans, animals, and the environment. In contrast, the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group, among others, asked the federal government with regard to new genetic engineering techniques (NGT) such as CRISPR-Cas9 (Document 19/23917), whether organizations, companies, and research institutes had inquired about such techniques, and what monitoring measures the federal government had taken to apply genetic engineering law to NGT and products covered by Section 27, Paragraph 4, No. 2 of the Genetic Engineering Act (GenTG). The questionnaire covers a total of 30 questions relating to the patentability of NGT or NGT products and access to them. The FDP parliamentary group's inquiry has been referred to the Committee on Food and Agriculture for consultation. In this committee, all parliamentary groups submitted an opinion on the motion and then rejected the motion by a majority. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group stated that a study on the status of NGT procedures had been commissioned at the EU level. The discussion in Germany could only continue once the aforementioned EU study was on the table. The SPD rejected supporting all research projects using the new technologies so that Germany wouldn't be left behind in the world. The AfD supported the FDP parliamentary group's motion, while the Left Party pointed out that the remaining questions regarding the national implementation of the EU's so-called opt-out directive in Germany remain open. The Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group argues that the precautionary principle is lacking in the FDP's motion.

The Federal Government then responded to the inquiry from the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group with a 70-page document (Document 19/24246), largely referring to a European Commission study on the status of novel genome editing techniques and including a table of corresponding work in the field of plants, microorganisms, and medical applications. An ad hoc working group of the Federal-State Working Group (LAG) recommended the application of the ECJ ruling to work with microorganisms, which is largely being implemented in the states. In this context, the Federal Government pointed out that there are currently no comprehensive detection and identification procedures or (certified) reference materials for all NGT organisms. Traceability of NGT products is possible under Regulations (EC) 18/29/2003 and 1830/03, provided detection procedures are available. There were also three inquiries regarding field experiments with NGT plants, which were not pursued further after receiving a response in Germany. The federal government also confirms that NGT-related research can bring benefits in the food, medical, and industrial sectors.