EU overregulation is stifling innovation in biotechnology

In his recent speech, Commissioner Várhelyi claimed biotechnology, among other innovative sectors, will enable a more innovative Europe. This ambition is in line with the European Union's long-standing desire to compete in the global market as a key innovator. However, the EU has a long history of over-regulating its market, leading the American and Chinese markets to always be a step ahead. Could the new Biotechnology Act change this, writes Ricardo Filipe.

Várhelyi claims combining biotech with AI and anonymous shared medical data through European Health Data Spaces can have huge potential which is nearly prophetic, allowing for a significant reduction of human resources and guesswork in medical care, potentially reducing the cost of healthcare and allowing for greater use of preemptive medicine while bringing revolutionary benefits to agriculture and industrial production.

The European Union is known for its strict regulatory approach, especially regarding emerging technologies. While the intention is to protect consumers and ensure ethical standards, excessive regulation often stifles innovation, delays progress, and places European companies at a competitive disadvantage.

One of the most significant examples is the EU’s approach to artificial intelligence. While aiming to prevent risks, the AI Act imposes heavy compliance burdens on businesses, slowing AI development in Europe. Meanwhile, companies in the US and China face fewer restrictions, allowing them to advance quickly.

Regulation should only exist where it brings a clear and demonstrable improvement to our quality of life. Brussels, unfortunately, too often falls into the trap of ‘precautionary’ regulation, where fear of tail risks leads to overly cautious regulation which stymies innovation and growth. Biotechnology impacts fields crucial to our day-to-day lives, such as healthcare, agriculture, and industry. The EU should get out of the way and allow innovation to work its magic.

In agriculture, biotechnology promises efficient, cost-effective alternatives to chemical products of the past. This would allow us to find biological products which can replace harmful pesticides, have food which  lasts longer naturally and can grow when weather conditions are harsher, or even foods which will provide much more complete nutrition.

In healthcare, biotechnology can help medicine become a personalised product while also helping make horrible diseases like cancer and HIV a thing of the past. You could replace a failing heart with an identical replica, save your child from hereditary diseases before they ever manifest, and even make medicine cheaper and more efficient. A previous use of biotechnology was the mRNA vaccines, which were able to produce a vaccine for the COVID pandemic in record time, regardless of their controversial handling by governments.  

In industry, biotechnology can solve many of our current pollution issues, while making products more friendly towards our wallets. It can turn our plastics into biodegradable products, it can make clean and cheap fuel for your car, and it can even turn your day-to-day waste into energy.

This is a wonderful vision of the future of any individual in Europe, but with the current European regulations, we will more likely find these innovations in the United States or China, leaving Europe behind in the innovation race.

The EU Biotech Act promises to strengthen innovation, from researchers to end-users, to create coherent regulatory pathways, and to build the next generation of biotech ecosystems. That’s a lofty goal which brings promises of a friendlier future for Biotech in Europe, but with the European Union's shadow of bureaucracy looming as an ever-present threat.

Although it's important to safeguard the choice of European citizens, it is necessary for innovative technologies to be able to take risks. Otherwise, they will spend less time trying to achieve and implement changes which will significantly benefit our quality of life and more navigating bureaucratic mazes. It is better to wait for a problem and then regulate if needed, rather than preemptively regulate against any and all negative outcomes we can think of. This way, advances can become more substantial and safeguards more efficient.

The Biotech Act must become a guiding light for innovation in Europe. The EU must find ways to simplify regulations on biotechnology and other cutting-edge technologies so that innovators, entrepreneurs, and individuals can cooperate and benefit from the wonders of the 21st century. 

Ricardo Filipe is a fellow with Young Voices Europe based in Portugal and a writer on politics and policy.

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