All processes and proposals of the European Commission for the agreement with MERCOSUR, including the elements related to food and pestles, are moving in the direction of serious facilitation. In practice, this opens the door wide for corporations – this is the logic behind these new legislative projects. This was announced to Lili Marinkova in the studio „FACTI“ and the program „Conversation“ by Svetla Nikolova, chairwoman of the „Agrolink“ association.
„Let me explain why. Currently, Europe is the only continent where genetically modified crops are not actually grown. There is import – food and feed - but the cultivation itself is prohibited. Now the European Commission is proposing changes to the legislation on GMOs, which has existed as a directive since 2001. Until now, this directive gave each member state the freedom to determine its own priorities and make decisions in line with the national interest. If these changes are adopted, this freedom will practically disappear,“ the guest added.
“The problem is also in the term itself. GMO is a “dirty word“ not only in Bulgaria, so for a long time there was a search for how to call this thing as a process. In the USA they use the term “gene editing“, which is close to “gene modification“, and now in Europe the concept of “new genomic techniques“ is being introduced. However, this does not change the essence. Regardless of whether we are talking about old techniques in which a foreign gene is inserted into a plant or animal, or about new methods in which rearrange the plant's own genes, the end result is the same – we get a genetically modified organism. The debate on this topic was long and the way it was conducted was more than indicative – through various working committees, through the Council of the European Union, through the ministers of agriculture. There is evidence of serious financial interests from corporations, that money was given to influence individual MEPs, member states, their government structures and ministers “, says Nikolova.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.
Svetla Nikolova to FACTI:GMO is a "dirty word" not only in Bulgaria, but Europe is now introducing "new genomic technic"
There is evidence of serious financial interests from corporations, that money was given to influence individual MEPs, member states, their government structures and ministers, says the guest
Jan 15, 2026 14:40 62
