29/11/2016 (Agence Europe) – At the Competitiveness Council on Monday 28 November, the Netherlands and Austria backed the European Commission’s interpretation of certain Articles of Directive 98/44/EC on the protection of biotechnical inventions (see EUROPE 11662). The Commission is of the view that the recent decisions by the European Patents Office (EPO) to grant certain patents (tomatoes and broccoli) are contrary to the intent of the European legislator. The Commission, which is, however, steadfast in its refusal to re-open discussions on the directive, takes the view that it should not be possible to patent products created by essentially biological procedures. This is an opinion shared by Copa and Cogeca, the EU farmers’ and agri-cooperatives’ organisations. (LC)