Luca Romagnoli, on behalf of the ITS Group. – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I reject the attempt to remove a clear indication of the country of origin from product labelling, in favour of an EU label that would solely serve to hamper traceability. The Commission is trying, in its usual manner, to standardise rather than to harmonise. Organic products enjoy advantageous market positions in terms of advertising, thanks to the ‘organic’ label, and respectable turnover as compared with other products, despite the greater retail costs.

Until now the labels used have given satisfactory results in terms of differentiation of supply and demand. This would be compromised if a common EU label were to undermine consumer awareness. The regulation ought to offer a guarantee of independence to certification bodies, particularly with regard to relations with operators from non-EU countries.

We need an accreditation system based on strict, transparent rules, but this is what the Commission does not want. To conclude, the idea of imposing an EU organic logo on products from non-EU countries, without the indispensable indication of the products’ regional and national origin, should most definitely be rejected.