[T]he Confederation of Scientific Societies of Spain (Cosce) has submitted a report in which the European Union is asked to “urgently” review the current regulation of Plant Improvement Techniques in the EU, which now equates CRISPR technology with controversial transgenics which makes its cultivation almost impossible due to enormous bureaucratic obstacles.

“The situation of plant innovations is one of the biggest shortcomings of the European legal system,” says [legal expert Leire] Escajedo.

…

At the moment, the European Commission is requesting reports from experts and has carried out a participation process open to the public to determine if it carries out changes in the law and in what sense.

“In theory, they will draw up a draft by the middle of next year, which will be processed in the European Parliament” says Escajedo. “We try to think that there will be a future for CRISPR crops in the EU; what they don’t have is a present”.

Meanwhile, in Japan you can already buy tomatoes that cure hypertension or some US supermarkets have mushrooms on their shelves that do not blacken due to oxidation and last longer thanks to this technique.

[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Spanish and has been translated and edited for clarity.]

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