At the plenary session, the Parliament considered and supported, in the III reading and under an expedited procedure, the amendments to the Law “On Living Genetically Modified Organisms” with 79 votes.

The main substance of the amendments was presented to Members of Parliament by the Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Shota Berekaishvili.

Under the amendments, an exception is introduced to the existing prohibition, allowing the import of living GMOs intended for processing for the purpose of animal feed production within the territory of Georgia.

A special licensing regime is established for carrying out this activity.

Licenses may be issued only for living GMOs permitted in Georgia and registered in the European Union register of genetically modified food and feed. At the same time, the import of living genetically modified maize, wheat, and grapevine remains prohibited.

The amendments define the licensing procedure, licensing conditions, and the obligations of operators, including requirements to prevent the release of GMOs into the environment and their mixing with other products, as well as rules on traceability, transport, storage, and processing control.

In addition, the scope of information included in the national registry of living GMOs is expanded, and the powers of relevant state authorities regarding import control and supervision are further specified.