Following numerous discussions and studies of technical documentation, the European Commission has decided to adopt a package of measures for the sustainable use of natural resources, which are essential for society. These measures include a proposed regulation (more information at this link): https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/genetically-modified-organisms/new-techniques-biotechnology_es?etrans=es ).
The proposed regulation addresses plants produced using new genomic techniques (NGT) and aims to develop new varieties that are more resistant to pests, diseases, and climate change, or more productive.
The regulation affects plants produced through site-directed mutagenesis and cisgenesis, but not genetically modified plants, which will remain subject to current EU legislation.
Two categories are contemplated:
- On the one hand, plants obtained through NTG comparable to conventional plants, which can be obtained naturally following traditional crossing and hybridization processes,
- and on the other hand, plants obtained through NTG with more complex modifications.
This opens the possibility of obtaining plants developed with NTG, which require less phytosanitary products and fertilizers, are more productive, or have greater resistance to stress conditions caused by climate change, through specific and precise changes to their genome, without the introduction of foreign elements. These would be similar to those obtained through natural processes, but in a much shorter period of time and more efficiently.
The EU is thus taking an important step toward the future, joining the advances in this area that other countries have already been developing across the board. Although the conditions and control measures are exhaustive, the regulation will allow our researchers to advance and develop their own technologies and varieties, avoiding dependence on third parties and adapting them as precisely as possible to our specific needs.
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