[PIO] The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Giannakis Gavriel, participates in an Inter-Parliamentary

The work of the Interparliamentary Conference on the contribution of national parliaments to improving the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) started today in Zagreb.The House of Representatives is represented by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Giannakis Gavriel.

In his intervention, Mr Gavriel welcomed the adoption by the Croatian Parliament of a Declaration on the exemption of the Alpine, Adriatic and Danube regions from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), noting that it is in line with the objectives of the Green Agreement and the relevant European Union (EU) Strategies. He stressed that safeguarding environmental sustainability is vital for the protection of biodiversity and local farmers, as well as for achieving food security. He also pointed out that the privatisation of genetic resources and the creation of monopolies at any stage of production and marketing of plant varieties and their products must be avoided in order to ensure farmers' free access to new varieties. He also stressed that farmers should be allowed to use seeds from their own production, as well as seeds derived from new genomic techniques. In this regard, the Cypriot MEP stressed the need to ensure that small seed companies have access to new varieties and develop varieties adapted to local climatic conditions, in order to ensure the competitiveness of agriculture and farmers at European level.

Finally, Mr Gavriel stressed the need to adopt an effective and scientifically sound regulatory framework for new genomic techniques, through investment in research and the development of new technologies.