Von der Leyen: no mention of biotechnology

The biotech associations EuropaBio and Bio Deutschland were obviously prompted to recall Ursula von der Leyen’s (EPP) speech before her confirmation as EU Commission President, in which she completely omitted biotechnology, which had been hyped during her previous term of office. Before the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen won 401 out of 719 votes with a clear absolute majority, she gave a speech that set new priorities after the Green Deal of the previous legislature.

Military armament to equip Europe with an airborne defence system against external enemies of democracy even without the USA, a tripling of the strength of the border-securing mercenary force Frontex – already the highest-funded EU authority with well over 2 billion euros – and a doubling of the strength of the EU police force Europol are intended to prevent border crossings and uncontrolled migration.

In addition to arming Europe against external and internal threats to democracy, such as the strengthening of the ultra-right in the European Parliament, the Union politician announced the replacement of the previous Green Deal with a Clean Industry Deal, which confirms the EU Green Deal’s decarbonisation target of 90% by 2040, but names ‘prosperity and competitiveness as the top priority’.In order to compensate for Europe falling behind China and the USA in numerous innovation sectors, von der Leyen promised further bureaucratisation, planning security for companies and a new fund to create a financing ecosystem that is not inferior to that in the USA and is intended to keep European companies in Europe.

What was most remarkable about von der Leyen’s speech – at least for biotechnologists – were the things that were not mentioned:The new European Competitiveness Fund ‘will focus on joint and cross-border European projects that drive competitiveness and innovation – especially in support of the Clean Industrial Deal. It will ensure that we develop strategic technologies and manufacture them here in Europe,’ said von der Leyen.  ‘From AI to cleantech – the future of our prosperity must be made in Europe.’ The fact that, unlike in her acclaimed 2023 State of the Union speech, biotechnology, prioritised there as the third strategic pillar of the Green Deal is not mentioned as the third strategic pillar of the Green Deal, biotech associations are obviously pondering – especially in light of the Biotechnology Act 2025 announced by Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager in early summer this year, which was intended to prioritise funding for the sector.

The congratulations from the EU biotech lobby EuropaBio sounded like singing in a dark forest: ‘We welcome the re-election of President von der Leyen and her commitment to promoting competitiveness, innovation and resilience while fostering the biotech revolution to modernise our economies in the European Union. EuropaBio recalled President von der Leyen’s commitment to present an EU biotech law in 2025, to support the Clean Industrial Deal and to facilitate, invest and ensure access to cheap, sustainable and secure energy supplies and raw materials for industry, including biotechnology (net zero technology).’A few days after von der Leyen’s speech, the German biotech association BIO Deutschland published a position paper entitled ‘Mit Biologie wirtschaften: Recommendations for action for a sustainable economy based on biotechnology’, which emphasises the importance of biotechnology for building a sustainable economy.

Fortunately, there is a reference to the EU Biotech Act, which is intended to improve technology transfer, at least in von der Leyen’s binding guidelines for her next legislative term. There it says: ‘I want Europe to make the most of the biotech revolution. Biotechnologies, supported by AI and digital tools, can help modernise entire parts of our economy, from farming and forestry, to energy and health.’ So just the usual public non-mention of biotechnology?

Not quite. Because the prospect of strengthening EU farmers in von der Leyen’s speech also sounds more like an occupation of the topic of ‘strengthening traditional agriculture’ propagated by ultra-right state leaders such as Victor Orban and Giorgia Meloni.  As a reminder: At the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers in mid-July, the Hungarian Council Presidency declared its intention to fundamentally re-discuss the issue of New Genomic Techniques (NGT) – Hungary always voted against the proposed deregulation in the Council of Agriculture Ministers. Just as Italy has already established and attacked by the old EU Commission, Orban wants a ban on the marketing of cell-based foods whose nutritional profile and CO2 footprint have been biotechnologically optimised and which are penetrating the global market – especially in Asia and the USA.

Von der Leyen’s agreement to allow climate-neutral fuels from the planned ban on combustion engines in newly registered motor vehicles and heavy goods vehicles from 2035 is positive. Overall, she speaks of technological openness. It will be interesting to see what the new Commission President means by this.