Europatat, Copa-Cogeca, Euroseeds and Starch Europe last week released a co-signed statement in which they support the conclusions of an EU Commission study, saying that the current GMO legislation in the EU ‘faces clear implementation challenges and is no longer fit for purpose’.
The associations say: “We strongly welcome the Commission’s intention to initiate a short-term policy action on plants derived from targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis. We hope that such a policy initiative will create a more enabling and innovation-friendly environment for products resulting from these breeding methods, while maintaining the high standards of EU food and feed production.”
They further points out that New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in potato breeding “allow breeders to develop plants that are similar to those that stem from conventional traditional breeding methods, but more quickly and in a more precise manner. They are therefore important tools that allow market demands, which change considerably over a ten-year period, and the various needs of farmers and consumers to be met more efficiently.”
The associations conclude their statement by saying that they welcome the Commission’s intention to initiate a short-term policy action on plants derived from targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis.
“We hope that such a policy initiative will create a more enabling and innovation-friendly environment for products resulting from these breeding methods, while maintaining the high standards of EU food and feed production. Given that discussions on the status of new genomic techniques have been underway for more than ten years and have now been summarised in the outcome of the NGT study, we count on support from the European Commission, European Parliament and Member States for immediate policy action based on the conclusions of the NGT study.”
Source: Copa-Cogeca, Europatat, Euroseeds and Starch Europe. Read the full statement here
Photo: Ileia
