MANY MEMBERS OF the plant breeding sector in Europe are voicing their opposition against the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) July 25 ruling, which states that crops obtained by mutagen- esis are GMOs and are, in principle, subject to the obligations laid down by the GMO Directive. The ruling, which subjects some of the most promising plant breeding innovations to the EU’s rules and regulations for GMOs, is the talk of the town amongst plant breeders and the wider agricultural community. Seed World sat down with Garlich von Essen, secretary general of the European Seed Association (ESA), to discuss its consequences and impact. Seed World (SW): Looking at the international media reactions and published statements, it seems the ECJ’s ruling has come as a big surprise to most observers. Garlich von Essen (GVE): That is true. It’s fair to say that many expected the Court to follow the opinion of its Advocate General Bobeck who had taken a very different approach in his interpretation of the relevant EU Directive. In most cases, that is what the Court does: follow the Advocate General and add further details. And of course, the intervening Member States like the United Kingdom or Sweden, as well as three EU institutions, foremost the EU Commission, basically all argued that a differentiated view should be taken. In the end, the Court opted for a very static interpretation of the letter of the law rather than a forward looking, more dynamic one as suggested by the Advocate General and others. It took an extremely conservative, legalistic approach. SW: What direction of regulatory clarification was the industry hoping for? GvE: The seed sector in Europe had hoped for a clarification that finally acknowledged that these technologies can be applied in different ways, leading to different results that may be treated differently by the regulator. While some lead to a regulated GMO, others do not. This differentiation can only be made when we do not solely look at technologies but also consider the final outcome of the process, i.e. the final plant product. It is the approach most other countries all over the world are now following as they realize that the rather simplistic approaches of The impact of Europe’s recent court ruling on plant breeding innovation. Marcel Bruins mbruins@issuesink.com A GREAT LOSS FOR EUROPE 30 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018