The Italian government, after more than two years of guilty inaction, has finally notified Brussels of a draft legislative decree designed to reintroduce the requirement to indicate the location of the production plant. Due, on the labels of Made in Italy foods.
The European Commission waited until the final days before the expiration of the so-called standstill period to notify Italy of additional requests for clarification. In the wake of opposing views-expressed by Big Food through Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Spain-the Brussels executive thus postponed the deadline for giving the green light to the national regulatory scheme to October 2, 2017.
Curious about the topics opposed by the aforementioned member states, and the Commission’s requests regarding Italy’s plan to require its sole operators to inform consumers about the location of the establishment of origin of food products destined only for the Italian market, (1) we requested from Brussels that we be allowed to receive copies of the relevant acts.
However, the Commission has decided to keep these acts secret , (2) much to the chagrin of the transparency criterion on which the notification procedure for national technical regulations has historically been based. Appealing to a recent directive, (3) according to which comments on national legislative drafts can be kept secret, in the same way as investigative acts on infringement procedures of EU law.
The response from Brussels does not lay the groundwork for free information, nor does it leave room for debate with citizens, consumers and those with legitimate interests – the so-called stakeholders-on the development of regulations that may favorably impact their informed consumer choices, and otherwise impact their respective professional activities.
The approach is reminiscent of that of the ‘dark room,’ the wall of omertà behind which the voluminous documents related to the free trade negotiations-and in reality, far more extensive-that go by the names TTIP and CETA have been hidden for years. In practice, where any normative hypothesis might inconvenience the ideologues of neo-liberalism, it is kept under seal pending its neutralization.
This is not the Europe we want; it is time for a change of course. Transparency of acts first and foremost, and respect for the legitimate expectations of citizens as declined in the regulatory designs of member states. With respect, yes, for the free movement of goods, but without neglecting national sovereignty and popular sovereignty in cases – such as this one – where it is consistent with common norms of a general nature.
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) While respecting the principle of free trade, i.e. without requiring operators established in other member countries to provide said information on the labels of pure foods placed on the Italian market
(2) See letter 3.8.2017 from the European Commission to the writer, attached hereto (2017) 4317849- Dario Dongo GESTDEM 2017-4276
(3) EU Dir. 2015/1535
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
