EU presidency makes last-ditch effort to break deadlock on gene-edited crops – Euractiv

After months of deadlock over the rules Innovative biotech crops, EU ambassadors will discuss next week the latest compromise text seen by Euractiv, which contains new proposals on patentability.

In 2023, the European Commission proposes to relax requirements for crops obtained through new genetic engineering technologies (NGT) to make them more sustainable and resistant to extreme weather and pests, thereby reducing the use of pesticides.

The EU’s executive arm has proposed dividing NGT plants into two categories: NGT 1, which are regulated as conventionally cultivated crops, and NGT 2, which are regulated as genetically modified organisms due to the number of DNA modifications.

Patentability of NGT It has become the most controversial issue in the debate.

Although the Committee’s legislation proposal Without resolving this issue, the European Parliament agree In February this year, the US government announced a complete ban on patenting of all types of NGTs.

With the document stalled in the EU Council, the Belgian presidency is trying to strike a delicate balance on BroadCast Unitedlectual property rights at the NGT plant, as biotech inventions are subject to 1998 Directive.

All eyes are on Poland, which is in the opposition and has enough votes to change the outcome of the negotiations.

In May this year, Belgium assumed the presidency Presentation Representatives of the member states put forward a proposal to exempt Category 1 factory patents from NGT.

The latest compromise text, which will be submitted to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on June 26, maintains the same idea but relaxes the conditions for applicants to start trials of NGT 1 crops.

New “temporary” status

The major change in the latest compromise text is the creation of a ‘temporary’ status for the NGT 1 plant.

This provisional category is intended to allow those aiming to test NGT 1 crops to begin field trials without having to wait for authorities to verify that the plants are not protected by patents or published patent applications.

However, to qualify, crops must still meet the key requirements of NGT Category 1, which are comparable to conventional crops and lack of herbicide resistance.

The aim, it said, was to avoid “imposing unnecessary burdens on requesters and competent authorities”.

Plant Scientists Network European sage The database shows that more than 40 field trials involving genome editing are underway in the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Spain are the most active EU countries in this area.

EU sources told European Events that member states, which want to speed up the decision-making process, are concerned that progress on the document could stall under the Hungarian presidency starting July 1.

（Edited by Angelo Di Mambro Zoran Radosavljevic)

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