The administrative arm of the European Union “has again delayed a much-awaited legal analysis of whether new plant breeding techniques should be considered GMOs,” said Euractiv.com, which covers EU policy. The so-called new breeding techniques involve developing new seed traits within a species through genetic engineering. The analysis originally was due at the end of 2015 and then postponed to the first quarter of this year, which has passed. No estimate was given for when the analysis would be issued.
Environmental groups say the EU is obliged to include the new breeding techniques under its GMO law. “The [European] Commission should leave no doubt that all products of genetic engineering are subject to EU GMO law which requires rigorous risk assessment, detectability and labeling,” said the groups, which included Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe. The European Seed Association said the new techniques should be exempt because no foreign DNA is introduced into plants. The techniques have names such as cisgenesis, RNA-dependent DNA methylation, and reverse breeding.