Why EU testing and regulatory frameworks must evolve with application technology

Why EU testing and regulatory frameworks must evolve with application technology From drift to decision-making, why must European Union testing and regulatory frameworks evolve alongside application technology? Prof Dr Jens Karl Wegener from the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants raises this question. The assessment and regulation of plant protection product application technologies in Europe are under increasing pressure. On the one hand, application systems are evolving rapidly towards adaptive, sensor-based and data-driven technologies. On the other hand, testing and regulatory frameworks remain largely rooted in static reference conditions that were developed decades ago. This growing disconnect increasingly limits regulatory systems’ ability to evaluate modern technologies properly and, unintentionally, slows innovation that could contribute to environmental protection, pesticide reduction, and improved application accuracy.