Greece is a member of the European Union and adopts EU legislation
on Genetically Modified Organisms. EU Regulations have an immediate
effect while Directives are transposed into national legislation
through the use of national legal instruments (commonly they take
the form of Ministerial Decisions).
Main pieces of legislation include:
- Directive 2001/18/EC of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release
into the environment of genetically modified organisms and
repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC, covering the field testing
of GMOs and the placing on the market of GMOs as well as products
containing or consisting of GMOs, e.g. for cultivation, import or
processing into industrial products.
- Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of 22 September 2003 on genetically
modified food and feed, covering the placing on the market of GMOs
intended for food or feed and of food or feed products containing,
consisting of or produced from GMOs.
- Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003 of 22 September 2003 concerning the
traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and
the traceability of food and feed products produced from
genetically modified organisms.
- Regulation (EC) No 1946/2003 of 15 July 2003 on transboundary
movements of genetically modified organisms covers exports of GMOs
to third countries and unintentional movements of GMOs.
- Regulation (EC) No 641/2004 of 6 April 2004 on detailed rules for
the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 as regards the
application for the authorisation of new genetically modified food
and feed, the notification of existing products and adventitious or
technically unavoidable presence of genetically modified material
which has benefited from a favourable risk evaluation.
- Directive 2009/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 6 May 2009 on the contained use of genetically modified
micro-organisms.
- Commission Regulation 619/2011 of 24 June 2011 laying down the
methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed
as regards presence of genetically modified material for which an
authorisation procedure is pending or the authorisation of which
has expired.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2013 of 3 April
2013 on applications for authorisation of genetically modified food
and feed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the
European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission
Regulations (EC) No 641/2004 and (EC) No 1981/2006.
- Directive (EU) 2015/412 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 March 2015 amending Directive 2001/18/EC as
regards the possibility for the Member States to restrict or
prohibit the cultivation of GMOs in their territory.
More information on the content of these legislative acts is
available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/gmo/new/legislation/index_en.htm