New EU rules intended to encourage more farmers to grow organic, tighten controls and boost consumer trust in organic food were informally agreed on Wednesday (29 June) by negotiators at the European Parliament and European Council.
The new rules, which still have to be endorsed by the Agriculture committee, the full Parliament and the Council before they enter into force, introduce a series of new measures. These include new checks in the supply chain, new EU anti contamination rules, and the requirement that imported food complies fully with EU standards.
A press release issued by the European Parliament says that the new rules will “increase consumer trust in organic foodstuffs and unleash the sector′s potential for growth”.
Commenting on the development, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA) said: “After 20 months of negotiations we have managed to reach an agreement, which will help organic sector grow and will increase consumers’ trust in organic foodstuffs. It was a laborious task but I believe new rules will bring benefits to both EU consumers and organic farmers.
“It was a laborious task but I believe new rules will bring benefits to both EU consumers and organic farmers”
Häusling explained key aspects of the new rules that will govern organic in the EU. These include:
Strict, risk-based controls along the supply chain that, on Parliament’s insistence, will be on-site and for all operators, at least annually or one every two years if no fraud is found in the last three years.
Imports to comply with EU standards: current “equivalence” rules, requiring non-EU countries to comply with similar but not the same standards, will be phased out within five years; to avoid sudden disruption of supply, Commission could, for a renewable period of two years, allow imports of specific products, even if not fully compliant with EU standards (e.g. due to specific climate conditions).
Contamination with pesticides: farmers will be obliged to apply precautionary measures to avoid contamination; in case of suspected presence of e.g. a non-authorised pesticide or fertiliser, the final product should not bear the organic label until further investigation; if contamination was deliberate or farmer failed to apply newly introduced precautionary measures, it will lose its organic status.
Member states currently applying thresholds for non-authorised substances in organic food, such as pesticides, could continue to do so, if they allow other EU countries’ organic foodstuffs complying with EU rules to access their markets.
To boost EU organic food production, new measures include:
Increasing supply of organic seeds and animals: better data gathering on the availability of organic seeds and animals should increase their supply to meet the needs of organic farmers. Derogations allowing the use of conventional seeds and animals in organic production would expire in 2035, but the end-date could be pushed back or forward, depending on increased availability of organic seeds and animals.
Mixed farms: farms producing both conventional and organic food would be allowed on condition that the two farming activities are clearly and effectively separated.
Easier certification for small farmers: group certification for small farmers would make their life easier and attract more of them into the organic farming business.
REACTION AND ANALYSIS
Organic organisations, farmers and brand-owners have all raised concerns about the process by which the EU Organic Regulation is being revised. Many within the organic sector argue that key organic stakeholders were denied the opportunity provide input at key stages of the revision process.
Reacting to this Wednesday’s announcement, the president of lead pan-European organic group IFOAM EU, Christopher Stopes, said: “We acknowledge the huge effort made by the Commission, the Parliament and the Council Presidency to improve the text. In the last 15 days, progress was made, but we regret that the process was rushed to be finalised and discussions on important political points were postponed.” He added: “If stakeholders would have been involved in the initial phase of the review, in a stronger and more transparent way, the process could have been smoother and the text would have better been suited to the needs of organic consumers and the organic movement.”
“Up to two days ago the text was bringing little added value compared to the current legislation”
IFOAM EU board vice president for regulation and certification, Sabine Eigenschink, added: “The main concerns of the organic movement were repeatedly communicated to the institutions involved in the trilateral negotiations. We will now evaluate the technical consistency of the text, the way it can be implemented, and the impact it will have on organic operators and the control procedures in the EU and in third countries. Up to two days ago the text was bringing little added value compared to the current legislation. We would like to see a regulation that supports the development of organic food and farming sector in all EU countries including those which did not support last Monday’s proposal.”
Main picture: Organic farming. Copyright, European Commission