Twenty-four organisations representing thousands of operators across Europe’s agri-food chain have issued an urgent appeal to the European Commission ahead of the upcoming trilogue negotiations on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). They note that although the Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food acknowledges the sector’s vital economic contribution — employing more than 30 million people and generating EUR 900 billion in 2022 — Europe’s competitiveness is being undermined by increasing complexity, delays, and administrative burdens in EU risk-assessment procedures.
The signatory organisations, encompassing food and feed producers as well as ingredient suppliers directly impacted by EFSA’s scientific work, emphasise that regulatory simplification and streamlined processes are essential to speeding up access to innovation, including NGTs. These improvements, they argue, are crucial for keeping Europe an attractive destination for investment. They identify the ongoing EFSA Performance Evaluation as a pivotal opportunity to enhance efficiency, reinforce science-based decision-making, and mitigate the disproportionate burdens created by the Transparency Regulation.
In their joint letter, the organisations detail persistent obstacles—ranging from protracted timelines and limited pre-submission support to expanding procedural requirements and insufficient uptake of new methodologies. They call on the Commission to implement decisive reforms that restore predictability, strengthen EFSA’s performance, and equip the EU agri-food sector to remain resilient and fit for the future, according to a press release.
Read the Joint Letter here.
