Agri-Pulse reports:
Washington, DC — The European Council and European Parliament reached a deal last week on new rules for governing crops edited with new genomic techniques, eliminating a major obstacle in discussions.
The new European Union framework would exempt some edited products with traits that could be natural from the bloc’s genetically modified crop regulations. It would also allow them in the EU market without special labels.
To view the new EU framework click here.
U.S. companies are already eying the potential market opportunities that looser restrictions might bring.
Dan Jenkins, vice president for regulatory and government affairs at U.S.-based plant breeding company Pairwise, told Agri-Pulse in an email that he welcomed the news. He called the deal a “decisive step toward policy that encourages investment and development of a wide variety of crops that can have a big impact in meeting the challenges we face.”
What next?: Both the Council and the Parliament still have to pass the agreement in a second reading, but this is considered a formality. The rules would apply approximately two years after those votes, the Parliament says.
