b'The EU GMO Directive is no longer fit for purposeWill the new EU Commissions Farm to Fork Strategy on sustainable food embrace plant breeding innovation?Petra Jorasch PetraJorasch@euroseeds.euAFTER THE RULINGof theruling with EU Member States who are European Court of Justice (ECJ) inresponsible to implement and enforce case C-528/16 on mutagenesis breedingthe GMO Directive. A number of EU that put all products resulting from anyMember States addressed concerns kind of mutagenesis breeding under thewith implementing the ruling due to the GMO definition of the European Directivepotential genetic indistinguishability of 2001/18, the seed sector internallyplants resulting from targeted mutagen-discussed on its positioning regardingesis techniques. The EU Commission the way forward. An update of Directiverequested a report from the JRC and the 2001/18 is seen as the only legally possi- European Network of GMO Laboratories ble approach to overcome the challenges(ENGL) responsible for the development that the ECJ ruling put on plants resultingof detection methods for genetically from mutagenesis breeding. This updatemodified organisms. The main outcome should be as targeted as possible on theof the report summarizes that based on base of excluding those plants from thethe current knowledge and technical GMO regulations that also can also resultcapabilities, it is unlikely that a detec-from natural or earlier mutation pro- tion method for a genome-edited plant cesses.product with single nucleotide variations or short insertion/deletions would fulfil Updating Europes GMO FrameworkPetra Jorasch, manager of Plant Breedingthe performance requirements for meth-The ruling created strong reactions fromand Innovation Advocacy for Euroseeds. ods of GMO testing. Even in case a DNA scientists who called upon all relevantalteration is detected, there are currently bodies in the European Union (EU) andplant breeding and crop improvementno procedures established that facilitate beyond to establish a dedicated inter- are crucial for all European citizens andan unambiguous conclusion that genome national policy forum for further delib- key to improve the environmental sustain- editing has created the alteration versus erations and collaboration in shapingability and economic competitiveness ofspontaneous mutation or conventional tomorrows GMO governance frameworkthe EUs high-quality agri-food produc- mutagenesis methods. This means that and advancing the public dialogue.tion system. While Euroseeds also sharesif a suspicious product with an unknown Leading scientists representing morethe objective to change the EUs GMOor non-unique DNA alteration would be than 127 European plant and life sciencesDirective to free advanced mutagenesisdetected on the EU market, it would be research centres and institutes havebreeding from the provisions for trans- difficult or even impossible to provide endorsed a position paper that urgentlygenic crops, we recommend a simplercourt-proof evidence that the modified calls upon European policy makers tolegal approach to effectively excludingsequence originated from genome edit-safeguard innovation in plant scienceproducts of old and new mutagenesising. Therefore, plant products obtained and agriculture. Young PhD studentsbreeding from its scope.by genome editing may enter the from Wageningen University even startedEU-market undetected.a European Citizen Initiative GrowUndetected Genome-Edited Scientific Progress to force the EU com- Products PBI Can Meet the New EU mission to update the EU GMO legislation.The outgoing EU Commission startedCommissions GoalsEuroseeds shares the conviction thatdiscussions on the consequences of theWith the European Parliament elec-72/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2020'