Economic Loss Caused by GMOs in Slovenia

Abstract

The Slovenian legal system introduced a special Act on the treatment of genetically modified organisms in 2002.¹ This Act was amended in 2004.² The Slovenian Parliament affirmed the official text in 2005.³ The Act on the treatment of genetically modified organisms regulates primarily administrative provisions and technical procedures regarding modifications of genetic materials.⁴ The main function of the Act is to regulate releases of GMOs into the environment as well as the presentation of GMOs and products made out of GMOs to the market.⁵

Zakon o ravnanju z gensko spremenjenimi organizmi — ZRGSO, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nr. 67/02.

Zakon o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o ravnanju z gensko spremenjenimi organizmi — ZRGSO-A, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, nr. 73/04.

The Act itself has its European source in Directives 98/81/EC, 90/219/EEC and 2001/18/EC.

According to art. 2 it does not regulate the following procedures of modifications of genetic materials: mutagenesis, cell fusion of eukaryotic species cells, self-cloning.

Within this function, the Act does not regulate mutagenesis and cellular fusion of vegetal cells. Beside that the Act does not cover, in terms of market regulations, medicaments for use in human and veterinary medicine (which include GMOs or their combinations).