Bloomberg has a terrific article on the biotech industry and GMO crops. This section, in particular, should be of interest to some of Nexreg‘s readers and clients:
The EU introduced stricter gene-modified food laws, including new rules on labeling, and created a food agency to screen biotech applications before ending its ban two years ago.
National governments can still slow or block approvals because the commission must consult national authorities when it plans to give permission for the EU-wide sale of gene-modified products for food, animal feed or cultivation.
The 10 approvals since the EU moratorium ended all resulted from the commission acting on its own after member states failed to muster a sufficient majority for or against, a stalemate that drags decisions out for months.
The World Trade Organization ruled in February that the EU moratorium was illegal and left unanswered the question of whether the current pace of approvals is compatible with global- trade rules. The WTO ruling resulted from a complaint by the U.S., Argentina and Canada, the world’s three biggest growers of gene-modified seeds.
See the full article at Bloomberg.com.