Press release
Kai P. Purnhagen, Esther Kok, Gijs Kleter, Hanna Schebesta, Richard G. F. Visser & Justus Wesseler: The European Union Court’s Advocate General’s Opinion and new plant breeding techniques
Rapid progress in new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) poses challenges for government agencies seeking to apply existing regulatory frameworks to new products. In the European Union (EU), two decisions to come this year will, it is hoped, provide greater clarity as to whether crops generated using NPBTs should be regulated as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). First, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is expected to reach a decision on the ‘mutagenesis exception’ within Directive 2001/18/EC, which legally defines GMOs. Second, the European Commission is expected to issue its much-delayed interpretation of whether NPBTs should fall within the scope of GMO-specific legislation,