The Ministry of Agriculture has highlighted how the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity entered force 20 years ago on Monday which helped Hungary confirm its GMO-free status.
The ministry noted that the protocol concerns the transboundary movement and handling of living, genetically modified organisms and that Hungary joined the agreement ratified by 173 countries in 2004. Hungary’s dedication to its GMO-free status is reflected by the fact that it is also enshrined in the new constitution in force since 2012, the ministry said in a statement. Hungary opposes a recent proposal made in Brussels under which the European Commission would discontinue member states’ right of self-determination and loosen some restrictions for plants resulting from newer gene-editing technology and cancel certain labelling requirements, the ministry said.
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