AgroPages-EuropaBio warned ‘Comitology reform threatens innovation’-Agricultural news

“Making the authorisation of new and innovative products even more difficult than it already is would threaten innovation and competitiveness and hurt growth and jobs in the EU”, warned Nathalie Moll, Secretary General of EuropaBio, referring to the EU Commission’s announced proposal to revise the ‘Comitology Regulation’. “As the world is looking to Europe to lead on evidence-based decision-making, we must not let politics trump science”, she added.

Ahead of the EU Commission’s legislative proposal expected this week, EuropaBio undersigned a statement signed by 18 European associations urging the Commission not to change the comitology system to the detriment of innovation and the single market. The associations emphasised that “science-based decisions must be central to comitology to allow for legal and regulatory certainty in the EU”, and also urged the Commission “to consider the impact that moving away from a science-based system would have on research, innovation and investment in Europe.”

"We encourage the European Commission to guard its independence as prescribed by the EU Treaties and uphold the fundamental principles of EU law", said Nathalie Moll. “Although some Member States are clearly not doing enough to support science, the European Commission has a legal obligation to authorise safe products if Member States fail to reach an opinion. Past rulings by the European Court of Justice and the European Ombudsman prove that the Commission has not been doing enough to guarantee the functioning of the existing, democratically agreed legal framework”, she added.

"Instead of encouraging political vetoes on safe and innovative products that can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges, the Commission and its agencies should build trust in the world class existing procedures and in safety-assessed products. This is especially important where unfounded concerns and insufficient knowledge of the multiple benefits of these products persist. A system in which products assessed as safe are not approved is not logical and damages the internal market and the European economy”, added Nathalie Moll.