US embassy cable - 05ROME458

UNCLAS  ROME 000458 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS USDA FOR OSEC - PENN AND SIMMONS 
STATE PASS USDA/FAS FOR BLUM AND D.YOUNG, STATE PASS USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ETRD, TBIO, KSCA, IT 
SUBJECT: ITALY/BIOTECH:  COEXISTENCE DECREE-LAW PASSED BY 
CHAMBER AND SENATE 
 
REF: A. (A) 2004 ROME 004563 
 
     B. (B) 2004 ROME 004141 AND PREVIOUS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  (U)  On January 25, 2005 the Italian Senate passed 
legislation on the coexistence of conventional, organic and 
biotech crops, approving a draft that had been passed by the 
Chamber of Deputies earlier in the month.  The decree-law 
requires all of the Italian regions to produce their own 
coexistence plans, but language in the draft legislation that 
set a deadline of December 31, 2005 for this to happen was 
dropped.  However, in subsequent discussions, the government 
and regional representatives agreed to July 28, 2006 as the 
deadline for regional coexistence plans.  This is a 
potentially positive development, holding the promise that 
Italy's de facto moratorium on planting biotech crops will 
disappear after the mid-2006 deadline.  Enacting the 
legislation also reduces the risk of Italy's failing to 
comply with European Commission guidelines on agricultural 
biotechnology. 
 
2. (U)  While the text of Italy's new coexistence decree-law 
declares that it's purpose is to "guarantee freedom of 
enterprise" and the "consumers' right of choice", the law 
nevertheless contains provisions that will essentially 
prohibit the planting of biotech seeds until the regions 
implement their coexistence regulations.  Not only farmers, 
but also seed companies, may be liable for fines of from 
5,000 to 50,000 euros (USD 6,500 to 65,000) or imprisonment 
for up to two years for "biotech contaminating."  It is clear 
that, with national elections coming up in the spring of 
2006, Italian politicians intend to maintain their 
restrictive GMO policies.  END SUMMARY. 
 
FINALLY, ITALY HAS A COEXISTENCE LAW 
------------------------------------ 
 
3.  (U)  On November 11, 2004, the Italian Council of 
Ministers on an urgent basis approved a decree-law on the 
coexistence of conventional, organic and biotech seeds 
planted in Italy (reftels).  According to parliamentary 
procedure, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate had until 
January 28, 2005 to pass the legislation, or it would have 
lapsed.  In mid-January the Chamber of Deputies passed the 
decree-law with a number of amendments.  The Senate approved 
the amended text without further changes on January 25.  The 
major provisions of the final coexistence decree are 
described below. 
 
LIMIT TO THE MORATORIUM:  REGIONAL COEXISTENCE 
-   PLANS DUE BY JULY 28, 2006 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
4.  (U) As the regions of Italy enjoy a significant degree of 
autonomy in agricultural matters, the national coexistence 
decree is general in nature.  Each of Italy's 20 regions will 
be required to draw up its own coexistence plan according to 
"good agricultural practices."  The Council of Ministers 
draft of November stipulated that the regions had to have 
their plans for implementing coexistence completed by 
December 31, 2005.  The Chamber of Deputies amended the draft 
to eliminate the deadline.  This would have allowed one or 
more Italian regions, simply by inaction, to maintain the de 
facto countrywide moratorium indefinitely, as the national 
law would not have come into effect until all the regions had 
their plans in place.  The Senate left the amended language 
eliminating the deadline in the final text.  However, the 
Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Maurizio 
Ronconi, was so concerned that he introduced and the Senate 
passed an "Ordine del Giorno" (Order of the Day), expressing 
the will of the Senate, which called for the December 31, 
2005 deadline to be respected. 
 
5.  (U) After the vote, federal officials, led by Minister of 
Agriculture Gianni Alemanno, met with regional leaders in a 
consultative body known as the Conference of the State and 
Regions.  The Conference agreed unanimously to establish July 
28, 2006 as the deadline by which regional coexistence 
implementation plans must be concluded.  The Conference's 
action will become binding if it is subsequently approved by 
both houses of parliament.  Alemanno has reportedly promised, 
 
 
by the end of March, to prepare a new decree formally 
establishing the deadline. Quoted in the press on February 4, 
Alemanno expressed satisfaction over the compromise deadline, 
saying that setting a limit on the moratorium diminished the 
risk of Italy's being out of compliance with European 
regulations. 
 
IN THE INTERIM:  STIFF PENALTIES FOR "BIOTECH" 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6. (U)  Another amendment introduced into the final 
legislation by the Chamber of Deputies, and accepted by the 
Senate, doubled the penalties for "biotech contaminating" and 
expanded the liability of violators.  Under the decree, both 
farmers and seed companies may be found liable for 
contaminating neighboring conventional or organic production 
or the environment.  The monetary penalties in the draft were 
doubled, now ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 euros (USD 6,500 to 
65,000).  While the November draft had no option for 
imprisonment, the final coexistence law calls for 
imprisonment of up to two years.  These penalties remain in 
effect in a region until that region implements its 
coexistence regulations. 
 
"ZERO TOLERANCE" IN THE INTERIM 
------------------------------- 
 
7.  (U)  Another significant change from the November draft 
introduced by the Chamber of Deputies and accepted by the 
Senate was the removal of language in the draft that implied 
acceptance of the adventitious presence of biotech seeds in 
conventional lots.  Current Italian seed regulations, which 
now will remain in force, do not allow any adventitious 
presence, but operate on a "zero tolerance" principle, 
meaning in practice a threshold of around 0.05 percent, or 
the minimum detectable. 
 
NEXT STEPS 
---------- 
 
8.  (U)  Italy's coexistence legislation establishes an 
"Advisory Committee for the Coexistence of Transgenic, 
Conventional and Organic Farming" under the Ministry of 
Agriculture, which will meet and draw up technical guidelines 
within 120 days of publication of the law (Ref A).  The 
committee will also be responsible for monitoring adherence 
to the decree. 
 
COMMENT:  POLITICS PREVAILED, BUT ROOM FOR HOPE 
-         IN THE LONG RUN 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
9.  (SBU)  Political maneuvering and coalition-building in 
the run-up to Italy's regional elections (in April of this 
year) and national elections (expected in the spring of 2006) 
have undoubtedly affected the outcome of the debate on the 
coexistence decree passed  January 25.  The final decree-law 
will make Italian farmers' planting and cultivation of GM 
crops impossible until at least the crop of 2007. 
Nevertheless, setting a deadline for the end of Italy's 
biotech moratorium (provided that it sticks) means that, at 
least in theory, GM cultivation in Italy may eventually 
happen.  We do not discount the possibility, however, that 
continued public hostility to GMOs will persuade the GOI to 
find a way to further delay, or at least inhibit, such 
cultivation.  In this rhetoric-charged atmosphere, Embassy 
Rome and Consulates General Milan, Naples and Florence (in 
tandem with our colleagues at FODAG and Embassy Vatican) will 
continue to work with trade, scientific and other interested 
Italian parties to increase public knowledge of the economic, 
environmental and humanitarian advantages of using 
 
 
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 2005ROME00458 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED