EU reaches deal on gene-edited crops after fierce debate

PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The European Union has reached a preliminary deal on how to regulate gene-edited crops in a move that could ease the development of new varieties in a region long wary of biotech innovations in food.

The EU has debated for years how to regulate so-called new genomic techniques (NGT), which can edit the genetic material of an organism without introducing traits from another species.

Proponents say the technology accelerates naturally-occurring mutations and offers a response to climate and environmental pressures, while critics bracket it with genetically modified organisms as a risk to ecosystems and health.

Under an agreement struck overnight by representatives of EU countries and the European Parliament, a first category of NGT crops will be regulated like con