EuropaBio timeline EU approvals

The European Association of Biotechnology industry has put together the attached updated
timeline for the approval of new GM events. Whereas there have been recent improvements in
the risk management process involving the European Commission and EU Member States
governments, the average time is still about 6 years. Most of this delay is due to the slow risk
assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which on average takes 4 years.
Most of this delay is the result of numerous questions to applicant companies from EFSA
(including those fed to EFSA by national scientific entities), after the application has been
submitted.