The transition to a sustainable agri-food system in which the guarantee of food security is combined with the preservation of natural resources has become an urgent and imperative priority; in this regard, biotechnology, especially new breeding techniques capable of producing punctual genetic modifications while obtaining the desired character, assumes a key role. Although the European Union is aware of the necessary contribution of scientific progress to achieve the objectives prepared in the new Common Agricultural Policy, a rigidly precautionary approach persists at the regulatory and jurisprudential level justified by the risk arising from the “substantial diversity” of genetic engineering products. This paper analyzes the main provisions of Directive 2001/83 EC on GMOs, the only regulatory instrument applicable to the full range of genetic engineering techniques, giving particular attention to the interpretation provided by the EU Court of justice of Article 3 on derogations from the scope of the directive. This is followed by an explanation of what the prospects are for a new legislative proposal in the light of EFSA’s most recent scientific advice.
La transizione verso un sistema agroalimentare sostenibile in cui sia possibile conciliare la garanzia di food security e la preservazione delle risorse naturali è divenuta una priorità urgente e improrogabile; in questa direzione, le biotecnologie, in particolar modo le new breeding techniques in grado di produrre modificazioni genetiche puntuali ottenendo il carattere desiderato, assumono un ruolo chiave. Nonostante l’Unione europea sia consapevole del necessario apporto del progresso scientifico per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi predisposti nella nuova Politica agricola comune, persiste a livello normativo e giurisprudenziale un approccio rigidamente precauzionale giustificato dal rischio derivante dalla “sostanziale diversità” dei prodotti dell’ingegneria genetica. Nel presente lavoro si analizzano le principali disposizioni della direttiva 2001/83 CE in materia di OGM, unica forma di regolamentazione ancora applicabile all’intero novero delle tecniche di ingegneria genetica, dando particolare attenzione all’interpretazione fornita dalla Corte di giustizia UE dell’art. 3 sulle deroghe al campo di applicazione della direttiva. A seguire vengono illustrate quali siano le prospettive per una nuova proposta legislativa alla luce dei più recenti pareri scientifici dell’EFSA.
La scienza chiama, il diritto non risponde. Riflessioni sull’attuale normativa OGM a fronte dello sviluppo delle New Plant Breeding Techniques
Ciccone M
2022
Abstract
The transition to a sustainable agri-food system in which the guarantee of food security is combined with the preservation of natural resources has become an urgent and imperative priority; in this regard, biotechnology, especially new breeding techniques capable of producing punctual genetic modifications while obtaining the desired character, assumes a key role. Although the European Union is aware of the necessary contribution of scientific progress to achieve the objectives prepared in the new Common Agricultural Policy, a rigidly precautionary approach persists at the regulatory and jurisprudential level justified by the risk arising from the “substantial diversity” of genetic engineering products. This paper analyzes the main provisions of Directive 2001/83 EC on GMOs, the only regulatory instrument applicable to the full range of genetic engineering techniques, giving particular attention to the interpretation provided by the EU Court of justice of Article 3 on derogations from the scope of the directive. This is followed by an explanation of what the prospects are for a new legislative proposal in the light of EFSA’s most recent scientific advice.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
