The EU Commission’s report on new genome editing techniques: a treasure trove for sustainable CRISPR food – or a Pandora’s box?
Blog by Pauline Phoa
Genome editing in plants can deliver beneficial crop properties such as drought and pest resistance, but the resulting products are also feared by some to lead to health and biodiversity risks in the long term. On 29th April 2021, the EU Commission published its long-awaited on new genome editing techniques, hinting at deregulation of products resulting from genome editing amidst accusations of aggressive biotech industry lobbying. In this blogpost, Pauline Phoa discusses the legal background to the Commission’s report, as well as some concerns about the way forward.
In 2019, the that the Commission draw up this report, and, if necessary, submit proposals for policy action, after a controversial of the Court of Justice in July 2018. In this ruling, the Court had decided that new genome editing techniques (such as ), should fall within the scope of application of the EU’s 2001 .