January 8, 2014
Delays in GM crop licensing may threaten investment in EU
EU policymakers' reluctance to accept genetically modified (GM) crops and approve new varieties may slow investment in agricultural technology in the bloc, UK's Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said.
The EU is expected to vote this month on a new strain of insect-resistant corn, which if allowed, would be the first so-called GM variety approved in 15 years, he said.
Opposition to biotech crops spurred Monsanto Co. to say in July it planned to withdraw applications to grow six corn varieties in the EU following more than a decade of hostility from consumers and governments. The EU's General Court ruled in September that the European Commission had failed to act on a cultivation request made by DuPont Co.'s Pioneer brand. That prompted the commission in November to ask the EU council of ministers to rule on the corn 1507 variety, first submitted for approval in 2001.
Paterson said that delays in granting licenses for gene-altered varieties have been "politically motivated," instead of based on research. Investors may be deterred from focusing on new farming technologies in Europe because of the regulatory standstill, he said.
