24/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament published on Tuesday 23 February a guide “through the smokescreen” on plant breeding techniques. This document rejects the terminology of ‘new breeding techniques’ on the grounds that they involve genetic modifications different from those occurring in nature. The Greens/EFA group fears genetic errors dangerous for health and the environment. The guide refutes the thesis that these techniques would reduce the use of pesticides. All these arguments, the paper says, would be used to exempt these new techniques from the EU’s Regulation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The European Commission is due to publish a study on new selection techniques in the near future. Link to Greens/EFA group document: https://bit.ly/3urcoMU (LC)