EU-28: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual
The EU’s complex and lengthy policy framework for biotechnology slows down and limits research, development, production and imports. This situation has direct consequences for EU farmers, who have limited access to agricultural tools and see their competitiveness eroding. At the same time, it creates an unattractive environment for research. The EU plant breeding sector is focusing their efforts on Innovative Biotechnologies, whose regulatory status is still to be defined. Public and private initiatives in EU Member States differentiate themselves by using voluntary genetically engineered (GE)-free labels and this increases the bloc’s demand for non GE soybean meal and discourages GE corn cultivation in the EU, which since 2017 is limited to two Member States.
