Legislative Decree No. 227 implementing Directive (EU) 2015/412 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their territory.

This Legislative Decree was adopted pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/412 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which amends Directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their territory. The Legislative Decree amends the provisions under Legislative Decree No. 224 of 2003, that implemented a 2001 European Union Directive aimed at controlling the deliberate introduction of GMOs into the environment. It is hereby set out the procedure for the approval of GMO restrictive measures at the national level. The Ministry of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies, jointly with the Permanent Conference for the Relations between the State, the Regions, and the Autonomous Provinces of Trent and Bolzano, may request European Union authorities to adjust the geographic scope for which the marketing authorization of a particular GMO has been issued so that the whole national territory or a part of it is excluded as an area for cultivation of that GMO. Penalties are set out as well.