Lollobrigida: "Battle won by a landslide, there will be no infringement procedure or repeal of our law"

The European Commission has communicated to Italy the early closure of the notification procedure of the bill on the ban on cultured meat "because the text was adopted" by the member country "before the end of the suspension period" provided for by EU Directive 1535 of 2015 This was reported in a note from the Commission's Directorate General for the Single Market anticipated by some Italian media. The communication invites Italy "to inform it of the follow-up given" to the initiative undertaken "also in light of the relevant jurisprudence of the Court of Justice".

Brussels' intervention was interpreted by the press as a rejection of the ban on synthetic meat adopted by our system. Not so the italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida , who declared: "The European Commission has closed the Tris procedure, initiated following the notification of the law on cultivated meat. The closure means that it has been definitively ascertained by the European Commission, the compatibility of the law with the principles of EU law on the internal market".

"Otherwise", explains Lollobrigida , the Commission would have proceeded with a detailed opinion, regardless of the notification methods. There will therefore be no infringement procedure, nor will Italy be asked to repeal the law. The Commission only asks to be informed about the application of the law by national judges. As with all measures that come into force in Italy, it is up to the national judges, when applying them, to further examine their compatibility with EU law".

''Our action is an action', concludes the minister, ''which served to awaken the consciences of other European states, it is a battle won by a landslide, Italy is once again the protagonist and in this case the avant-garde'.'