EU Commission President Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen delivered the well known ‘the State of the Union – SOTEU 2022’ speech, addressing the challenges the EU Member States have been facing throughout this year with regard to the destabilising consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine, such as the uncertainty of food, the energetic crisis and the fluctuations in commodity prices.
The speech was this year again an important moment to remind the EU citizens about the institutional commitment on key files that European Union is working or will be working on in the upcoming future. Among others: the European Green Deal and in reaching climate neutrality goals. The EU Commission President mentioned investment in sustainability as one of the highest and most crucial item in the Commission agenda.
Ursula Von Der Leyen mentioned the objectives included in the 2023 Commission Work Programme, largely inspired by the by the outcome of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which ended back in May 2022.
In this context, Euroseeds strongly welcomes the mention of a potential legislative proposal for the new genomic techniques, NGTs, among the listed objectives for 2023, and urges the EU Commission to take a rapid and fair action to make gene-editing technologies a reality for all EU Member States.
Plant breeding innovation will play a key role in successfully and sustainably addressing these challenges. Scientific studies have proven that plant-breeding innovation strongly contributes to the sustainability of farming, food production and the entire economy.
Moreover, Euroseeds acknowledges the recognition of a sustainable approach and urges the EU Commission to keep the sustainability and productivity standards high for the European agriculture and food system.
