The European Union recently agreed to ease restrictions on new genomic techniques (NGTs) for food, in the most significant change to Europe’s stringent regulatory approach to crop biotechnology in two decades. Following Europe’s broader deregulatory push since 2024, its latest action falls short of a full normalization of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) in the European food system. But it is an important break from the precautionary reflex that has long shaped EU policy. The eased regulations may also have large and positive effects for lower- and middle-income countries dealing with rising food insecurity.