Brussels, 15/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The regulation transposing into EU law the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and fairly sharing the benefits resulting from their use (ABS Protocol) has been formally adopted. The definitive adoption of this text at first reading was simply a formality and took place on 14 April, without debate, on the sidelines of the Agriculture Council. The Council also adopted the decision authorising the EU to ratify this protocol to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
Under this regulation, users - the agri-food and animal feed industry, the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry and researchers - will have to take the necessary care to ensure that access to genetic resources and the traditional knowledge associated with these resources complies with the obligations under the rules laid down by this legislation. Each member state of the EU will appoint one or more competent authorities responsible for applying the regulation. The Commission will publish the list of these authorities and will keep it updated. It will establish an online register of collections of genetic resources within the EU. The Commission and the member states must promote information, awareness and training activities to help users to understand the obligations upon them, and to encourage the creation of sectoral codes of conduct, guidelines and best practice, in particular, wherever this may be of assistance to university researchers, non-commercial researchers and SMEs.
The implementation of this regulation will help to protect the rights of countries and indigenous communities and areas which grant authorisation for their genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge to be used, to give European researchers more reliable access to samples of quality genetic resources at reasonable prices and help towards the sustainable use of biodiversity. Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for the Environment, welcomes the move and the fact that “the EU is now in a position to ratify the Nagoya Protocol very soon and thereby help towards its entry into force”. The deadline for the ratification of the Nagoya Protocol is July of this year. (AN)