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ORGANIC PRODUCTION and LABELLING of ORGANIC PRODUCTS

In “Agriculture and Rural Development - AGRI”

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In March 2014, the Commission presented a proposed regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (2014/0100 (COD). It aims to revise the existing legislative framework (Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 in order to remove obstacles to the sustainable development of organic production in the EU. It also reflected concern over the risk of the erosion of consumer confidence as well as shortcomings in the control system and import regime. The Commission’s proposals also aim to (i) guarantee fair competition for farmers and operators, prevent fraud and unfair practices and (ii) improve consumer confidence in organic products.

The proposal was referred to the Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) and announced in the April 2014 plenary. A draft report was presented in the AGRI Committee on 23 February 2015. In the following October 2015, the AGRI Committee voted on the draft report prepared by rapporteur Martin Hausling (Greens/EFA, Germany). It also adopted a mandate to launch negotiations with the Council. Since then, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have sought to find agreement on a legislative text through trilogues. Eighteen trilogues took place between November 2015 and June 2017.

In its legislative proposal, the Commission proposes to strengthen the rules on the control system, the trade regime, animal welfare practices and non-authorised products or substances. It seeks to ensure that organic production adheres to a set of principles that reflected closely the expectations of consumers. Its intention has been to ensure that its proposed new legislative framework will support the sector reach its full potential.

The report adopted by the European Parliament's AGRI Committee included a number of amendments concerning for example: the scope, definitions, principles and objectives of organic farming, processing and distribution. Other aspects covered included the general production rules which operators should respect; general rules for mixed farms, the treatment of small farms; a prohibition on the use of GMOs requiring that producers prove that they have not used GMOs for the production of their products; provisions on the control systems, sanctions, precautionary measures, trade with third countries and proposals for a database on cases of non-compliance.

The Council held a debate on the proposed regulation on 12 June 2017. Ministers restated their commitment to securing agreement on the file. Bilateral meetings were subsequently convened with Member States. On 28 June 2017, the Maltese Presidency and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on the new regulation in the form of a revised text.

The new rules will enhance legal clarity and allow for the harmonisation and simplification of production rules. Consumer confidence should be increased through the strengthening of the control system. The new regulation will introduce checks on retailers and a risk based approach to controls thereby reducing the administrative burden on operators and SMEs in particular. Competition between EU products and imports should become fairer. Private control bodies in third countries will have to comply with EU production and control rules when deciding whether a product to be exported to the EU is organic or not. A wider list of products will be covered in the new legislation. For small famers, the new rules will make it easier for them to switch to organic farming by reducing inspection and certification costs including the related administrative burden.

In terms of the European Parliament’s contribution, MEPs were successful in ensuring that the controls under the new rules would include at least one annual physical on-site check of compliance with EU standards by farmers, breeders, processors, traders and importers. These controls should not be limited to final products (as the Commission had suggested) but should be done throughout the organic production chain, thus giving consumers guarantees that the organic products they buy are truly organic. MEPs also pushed for a system which focused more on EU harmonised precautionary measures. In an effort to increase organic seed supply, MEPs were successful in the proposal for a computer database of organic plant reproductive material in each Member State and for the establishment of national systems connecting organic farmers with operators able to supply organic reproductive material. Parliament also pushed for legalising the use of so-called organic heterogeneous material that is usually traded and used locally. MEPs also managed to adapt production criteria for organic varieties produced by professional breeders so that they would be tailored to specific needs and constraints of organic production. Negotiators from all there institutions agreed that growing crops in demarcated beds shall continue only for those surfaces in Denmark, Finland and Sweden that have been certified as organic before 28 June 2017.

On 20 November 2017, Member States represented in the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) endorsed the agreement on the new rules for organic production and labelling of organic products. Following approval by the SCA, the chairman of the SCA subsequently issued a letter dated 21 November 2017 to the chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural development. This indicated that if Parliament adopted the compromise text as approved by the SCA, the Council would adopt the same text in first reading without amendments. On 19 April 2018, the European Parliament voted in plenary in favour of the new rules by 466 votes in favour to 124 against with 50 abstentions. On 22 May 2018, the Council adopted the new EU rules on organic production and the labelling of organic products. The final act was signed on 30 May 2018 and was published in the EU's Official Journal on 14 June 2018. The new regulation will apply from 1 January 2021.

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Author: James McEldowney, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/11/2019.