EurActiv
EU health commissioner calls for updated CRISPR-edited crop rules
The ‘new plant breeding techniques’ need new EU legislation that takes into account the latest advanced technologies, EU Health Commissioner ...
Agriculture commissioner says EU must decide if ‘science or politics’ will drive gene-edited crop regulations
The European governments have to decide whether science or politics are applied when it comes to issues such as new ...
As glyphosate debate rages, French politician urges EU to take ‘science-based’ approach to pesticide regulation
French MEP Angélique Delahaye believes that policymakers must tell citizens what is currently possible and what is not when it ...
Is Europe ‘turning its back’ on reason and science?
Is Europe, home of the Enlightenment, turning its back on reason and science? Recent decisions by Europe’s regulators, judges, and ...
Toxic organic pesticides pose surprising challenge to pro-environment politicians
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released fresh data which re-confirms the toxicity of copper compounds, pesticides that are ...
Viewpoint: CRISPR and other new plant breeding technologies (NBTs) can help Europe address food and farming problems
Language and accusations are still exactly what they were in the late 1990s: “Frankenfoods” allegedly threatened the health and lives ...
Viewpoint: How EU can return to evidence-based policy-making
The word ‘evidence’ implies objectivity based on facts and science. But the reality reveals a wide gap between theory and ...
EU Green Parties: Crops produced with New Breeding Techniques are ‘new GMOs’ that perpetuate ‘industrial agriculture’
The EU Court of Justice will soon publish its ruling concerning the legal statute of a group of biotechnologies, which have ...
Could the rise of New Breeding Techniques like CRISPR soften opposition to crop biotechnology?
“Mother Nature” is changing quickly and this requires the adoption of technology-driven solutions that will help both growers and consumers, ...
EU food safety chief: Reelection—not reality—motivated Europe’s anti-glyphosate politicians
Some politicians spoke “loudly” against glyphosate, the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, before their elections but came back to reality ...
EU Court of Justice upholds ban on neonicotinoid insecticides, dismissing cases by Bayer and Syngenta
A top European Union court upheld on Thursday (17 May) the ban on three insecticides blamed for killing off bee ...
European Seeds Association: Foods made with new breeding techniques shouldn’t be labeled
Labelling products that result from the so-called new plant breeding techniques would provide little new information and would therefore make ...
Italian politician calls on EU to embrace new plant breeding techniques to cut farming’s environmental impact
The new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) are a major opportunity to move toward sustainable agriculture and simultaneously ensure food quality ...
Future of New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) in EU depends on European Court of Justice’s looming decision
The future of new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) at the EU level lies in the European Court of Justice’s interpretation ...
EU health commissioner: Neonicotinoid, glyphosate decisions show European regulations consistent, science-based
No one can blame the European Commission of being in the hands of industry lobbies, as in both the glyphosate ...
European farmers push EU to emulate USDA in not regulating CRISPR and other new crop breeding techniques
European farmers warned EU policymakers on [April 10] to take immediate action and encourage innovative new plant breeding techniques following the ...
European Commission faces increasing political pressure to back neonicotinoid insecticides ban to protect bees
EU lawmakers have urged the European Commission to convince member states to back its proposal to ban neonicotinoids and avoid ...
Greece approves glyphosate herbicide for 5 years, reversing prior position supporting rejection by EU
The Greek ministry of agriculture officially approved on Tuesday (6 March) the re-authorisation of the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, ...
New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) needed to improve protein crops, says European farmers group
There is a need to maintain the EU’s main source of protein feed that are the co-product of biofuels, the ...
Europe should embrace new breeding techniques to make farming more sustainable, says EU agriculture committee chair
The vice-chair of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee has argued that Europe should embrace innovative biotechnologies to boost food production ...
Germany agrees to ban GMO crops, phase out glyphosate herbicide ‘as soon as possible’
After a week of talks, German coalition negotiators agreed on the cornerstones of their new programme. But when a new government ...
EU seeks ‘clarity’ on court’s recommendation not to regulate new crop breeding techniques as GMOs
The European Commission expects “important” clarity on the scope of GMO legislation ahead of a Court ruling on new plant ...
Gates Foundation, EU pledge over $500 million for agricultural research and innovation
The European Union together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged ... more than €500 million [$589 million] over ...
Viewpoint: France shows its irrationality in embracing nuclear power but rejecting glyphosate safety
[Editor's note: Cécile Philippe is an economist and Director-General of the Molinari Economic Institute.] In France, a glyphosate ban for ...
Trade disruption: Fears grow that EU glyphosate herbicide ban could upend global food markets
A possible glyphosate ban entails the risk of trade disruption to food imports from third countries, in case the EU ...
Scientists warn EU policymakers that farm pesticides could be to blame for insect declines
A recent study showed a 75% decline in Germany’s insect population over a period of almost 30 years but the European Crop ...
EU farmers union: Glyphosate herbicide renewal dispute ‘undermines’ Europe’s scientific credibility
EU farmers’ union Copa-Cogeca has rejected the Commission’s revised proposal for a five year re-authorisation of glyphosate, claiming that such ...
Viewpoint: EU’s glyphosate reauthorization should depend on science, not precaution
[Editor’s note: Pieter Cleppe is the head of the Brussels office of Open Europe, a non-partisan and independent policy think ...