Establishment headquarters, the knockout of the European Commission dates back to January 28, 2018 but was kept secret under elections by Rome and Brussels. Here is the evidence.
Place of establishment, the requirement on food labeling
Made in Italy
The requirement to mention the location of the factory on the label of Made in Italy food products was introduced in Italy by Legislative Decree no. 109/92, with the green light from the European Commission. However, this rule lost its effectiveness on Dec. 13, 14, the date of implementation of EU Regulation 1169/11, as the then Minister Federica Guidi decided not to make the necessary notification to Brussels.
Between 2014 and 2017, the ministers
in charge of Economic Development and Agricultural Policy staged various ballets and fake news
On the topic of ‘establishment headquarters. Rotating imaginatively among the orders of Big Food – which has always demanded hiding thesource of food, so that production could be relocated without informing consumers – and the demands of consumers – who instead expressed a desire to know Where the goods were produced.
Legislative Decree 145/17
finally re-established the mandatory indication of the establishment’s location on Italian products destined for the domestic market, effective April 5, 2018
. And everyone-including the writer-has believed in the effectiveness of the rule, albeit pending confirmation from Brussels.
Ministers Maurizio Martina e Charles Calenda, in fact, had at first initiated the ritual procedure of notifying the regulatory design to the European Commission, who had taken time for her examination.. The odd couple thus decided to go further, relying on a different procedure to communicate the rules adopted.
The big lie of the Gentiloni government
Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis – in his own missive 28.1.18, which is attached here, addressed to Minister Angelino Alfano – had informed the Italian government that the notification of Legislative Decree. 145/17 is inadmissible because it is executed in violation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU, Article 114).
Paolo Gentiloni ‘s government was made aware of the unenforceability of its own act having the force of law, due to conflict with EU law, 67 days before the decree took effect on more than 60 thousand food industries in Italy. Which found themselves forced to review hundreds of thousands of labels, and consign to waste huge quantities of primary packaging that could not be used as of April 5, 2018 because it did not comply with the decree whose illegality no one outside of Palazzo Chigi knew. With enormous environmental as well as resource costs.
Ministers Maurizio Martina and Carlo Calenda, as well as Deputy Minister
Andrea Olivero
,
they knew everything. But they have lied to the citizen-voters, to businesses (agricultural, food and distribution) and their representatives, and to the institutions and administrations they themselves lead. They falsely boasted first the adoption, then the enactment of ‘their’ decree, being careful not to report that it too-like those on the origin of pasta, rice and canned tomatoes (1)-are illegitimate, and must therefore be disapplied by the authorities.
We are committed to consumer protection by ensuring that consumers are fully informed so that they can choose the quality they want. I am confident that our agribusinesses will take full advantage of this opportunity, meeting the needs of an increasingly discerning consumer.”
Deputy Minister Andrea Olivero, April 5, 2018
There is serious responsibility, politically and perhaps judicially. Criminal responsibilities can and indeed should be verified, by the competent Public Prosecutor’s Offices, where hypotheses of ideological forgery in public acts are involved. Civil liabilities, should the recipients of Legislative Decree 145/17 and their representations decide to take action for compensation for damages unjustly suffered.
The European Commission, in turn, will have to explain to 60 million Italians why it kept a communication of such importance to all operators in the food chain, as well as to citizen-consumers, a secret.
Shame on you, out forever!
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Regarding the blatant illegality of the decrees origin pasta, rice and canned tomatoes, reference is made to Part V(Origin milk, pasta, rice, tomato . The ephemeral decrees) of the free ebook ‘1169 sentences – Reg. EU 1169/11. Food news, inspections and penalties‘, at https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/libri/1169-pene-e-book-gratuito-su-delitti-e-sanzioni-nel-food
Attachment
Letter 28.1.18 from Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis to Minister Angelino Alfano
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
