Also the Italian Parliament approved the banning of the much discussed law on the production and marketing of cultivated meat on November 16, following a similar outcome from the Senate’s vote earlier this summer.
While the government claims that the measure is meant to defend Italian food culture and heritage, civil society organizations believe that the ban serves a strategic political interest for Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy ahead of the European Elections in the summer of 2024.
During the Parliament’s debate on November 16, Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida – representative of the Prime Minister’s party – stated his desire for ‘a different Europe’, urging other countries to align with Italy in banning any form of ‘synthetic food’.
The idea doesn’t seem to be catching on: on November 17, the German government announced a $41.4 million fund to advance alternative proteins. Similarly, Danish Minister of Agriculture Jacob Jensen disclosed to Forbes their intent to revisit the current procedures for novel foods like cultivated meat at the EU level.
The TRIS trick
In early October, the European lab-meat community celebrated Italy’s official withdrawal of its Technical Regulation Information System notification (TRIS) for this bill to the European Union, an EU procedure aimed at preventing barriers within the bloc’s internal market.
If cultivated meat would be prohibited in Italy, European lab-growwn producers would see a distortion of the free movement of goods across EU countries, granted by EU law.
The government is aware that the proposed law is currently unlawful from an European perspective. When asked if the withdrawal signaled Italy’s retreat, Lollobrigida replied that the Ministry intended to submit a stronger law text to the Commission, ensuring it would pass EU-block judgment.
European member states aren’t obligated to wait for TRIS notification approval to enact a law within their country.
Some civil organisations suggest the decision to withdraw was purely done to avoid EU scrutiny and to buy time for the procedure to be approved by both chambers. Francesca Gallelli, a Public Affairs Consultant at the non-for-profit organisation promoting alternative protein Good Food Institute Europe, stated that the text approved by the Parliament was identical to the one previously sent through the TRIS procedure.
The EU-block will therefore be called to look into the same text once said by the Minister to be weak.
Gallelli added that if the Commission or any member states had raised observations within the TRIS procedure in October, the period for non-adoption of the law would have extended until the end of January.
Strategic move ahead of European Elections
Chiara Caprio from the Italian animal welfare NGO Esseri Animali remarked that the decision to withdraw the law, was a deliberate internal political choice of the Brothers of Italy party, aimed at promoting this government’s result ahead of the European Elections.
At the EU, the party positions itself within the eurosckeptisc conservative ECR group, reticent to cede shares of sovereignty to the European Commission.
By securing a positive outcomes in both chambers, the Italian government create the illusion of a correct policy, calling the ban a ‘victory for Italy’. The government sees already a future clash with the EU in a too-well-known “Us against Them” narrative previously used in election campaigns to discredit political opponents and win people’s heart.
Latest Italian citizens’ voting intentions reveal consistent support for Meloni’s party, while indicating a gradual decline for right-wing parties like Lega Nord and Forza Italia, who are in the government coalition with Brothers of Italy.
Back to Italy
But the proposed policy must receive approval from the Italian President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella in order to be effective. Experts caution that this approval is uncertain.
President Mattarella already expressed concerns regarding the measure due to strong indications of breaching the European single market law, with possible infringement proceedings by the European Commission.
Earlier in October, Prime Minister Meloni also proposed a reformation of the Italian Constitution to reduce the decision-making power of the President of the Republic.
Italian pro-European party +Europa launched on November 17 a signatures collection, to ask the President of the Republic not to sign the text of the law. In this scenario, the law will be sent back to the Parliament, that will need to adopt significant changes prior to submit it once again.
Caprio mentioned that if the law will be approved, environmental NGOs might consider initiating strategic litigation against the government’s bill to halt the law.
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