The European Parliament approves the new organic rules

Posted November 23, 2017 – 09:49 

With 29 votes in favour, 11 against and 4 abstentions, the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee approved the new EU organic regulation on Wednesday 22 November. The reform proposal presented by the Commission in 2014 only needs to be formally adopted by EU ministers in the Council and by the European Parliament in plenary session. The new rules, which provide for checks on the entire supply chain, group certification for small companies and databases to increase the supply of organic seeds, will be applicable from 1 January 2021.

European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan enthusiastically welcomed the approval of the regulation: 'The decision is a significant step for the organic sector which is growing rapidly and will be able to continue to grow with the certainty of clear and fair rules for all, and everyone agreed that the current rules, 20 years old, were no longer adequate and would eventually hinder the growth of the sector, which represents €27 billion in the EU.'
Hogan specified that 'the new rules end the existing system of exceptions and will apply to all organic products sold in the EU, whether EU produced or imported. Stricter precautionary measures also reduce the risk of accidental contamination with unauthorized substances.
Among the 11 votes against that of Paolo De Castro, vice-president of the Agriculture Commission of the European Parliament. 'I voted against the agreement on the new Regulation for the organic sector, already approved by the member states despite nine countries against it. The problem is that the new indications do not seem to respect the quality levels achieved by Italian organic products and risk putting into difficulty those who have invested and worked for this type of production in recent years. The new provisions are not in line with the levels and quality standards that have been applied for years in our country, first place in Europe in terms of extension and second in terms of production, and risk putting Italian organic production in serious crisis.
And in fact the negative reactions to the provision are shared by representatives of Italian agriculture and certifiers. The latter also expressed themselves negatively at a European level.