b"THE EU MUSTF or centuries, seed varieties and seed production tech-niques have required continued improvement to meet the critical challenges of growing populations, climate REMAIN A KEYchange and depletion of natural resources. Many plants them-selves developed defensive mechanisms, such as ability to instantly irritate skin and eyes, cause burning sensations or ACTOR IN THEkill insects, to be able to protect themselves from being eaten. Food production techniques changed as well to meet many com-peting demands and priorities. Today we are once again at the AREA OF SEEDSpoint where we have to rethink how we produce and consume food. Indeed, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 in which food security is centralsets AND NEWimportant goals that we are committed to attain. We are working towards a world where poverty and hunger are eradicated, and food is sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious for all. Since TECHNOLOGIES2010, sustainable development has been mainstreamed into EU policies and it was integrated into the cross-cutting priorities of the Juncker Commission in 2014. IN PLANTS The UNs One Health vision links health, food safety and the environment to food security. Against this backdrop, the UN General Assembly named 2020 the International Year of Plant Health. Plant health is critically important to guarantee food ANDRIUKAITIS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT PLANTsecurity and stable and sustainable ecosystems. It is a key part BREEDING INNOVATION AND MORE.of the EU's food policies. BY: VYTENIS ANDRIUKAITIS Current challengesWith climate change and a growing world population, food secu-rity has become a key concern. According to recent research1, global food production is already under pressure. There are con-cerns that crop yields are stagnating in Europe and they are projected to decrease further under future climate conditions, including for some main cereal crops. Resources are also under pressure. More food needs to be produced with fewer inputs and on less land as other land uses take precedence and fertile land becomes scarcer. Consequently, we urgently need to improve plant varieties to make them more resistant to diseases and abiotic and biotic stresses, more tolerant to drought or flooding, and nutritionally enhanced. Innovation plays an essential role in this and the EU should be a leader in this area, promoting innovation while ensuring a high level of safety.EU seed legislation and sector Since the end of the 19th century, and particularly after the two world wars, food security has been a priority in Europe. Initially EU countries developed rules on seed quality to ensure agricul-tural and food production but since the 1960s, internal market rules have been gradually harmonised. The first Directives on marketing and producing cereal and fodder plant seeds were published in 1966.Today, there are over 43,000 varieties of agricultural and vegetable species authorised for marketing in the EU via the common catalogues of varieties. This number is constantly increasing. Next year, we will celebrate 50 years of the Common Catalogues. On the R&D front, it must be noted that EU plant breeding companies invest up to 20% of their annual turnover into research, making it one of the most R&D intensive sectors. 1 PLOS ONEhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217148 May 31, 2019 10IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM"