Agriculture and rural development

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Organic farming

Summary
Evaluation
Commission Proposal
Legal Act
Implementation

Overall State of Play

• Commission proposal adopted by the Commission in March 2014, COM(2014)180
• Legal Act adopted on 30 May 2018: Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and labelling of organic products

Summary

The regulation harmonises and simplifies the rules for organic production by eliminating exceptions and flexibilities in order to create a level playing field for EU producers. While in the Official Control regulation it is better specified that organics is a part of the horizontal controls, the organic regulation lays down additional rules specific for the organic sector. The shift from equivalence of organic standards to compliance will also create a level playing field for imported goods. Moreover, the Regulation simplifies and clarifies the organic production rules.

Estimated savings and benefits

Due to the absence of data, the potential savings for operators could not be quantified.

The initiative will increase the competitiveness of EU operators by harmonising the rules within the EU and eliminating current flexibilities on imports. It will also reduce certification costs for operators, by application of the risk analysis criteria, introduction of group certification and fee transparency.

State of Play:

Commission proposal adopted by the Commission in March 2014, COM(2014)180

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The proposal aimed to:

• remove obstacles to the sustainable development of organic production in the EU,

• guarantee fair competition for farmers and operators and improve the functioning of the internal market,

• achieve a level playing field inside the Union and with respect to imported products,

• maintain or improve consumer confidence in organic products,

• stimulate the growth of the organic market and of the number of corresponding jobs.

The proposal included the following simplification benefits:

• Improvements to the overall quality of the legislation including clarifications and the filling of legislative gaps;

• production rules: removal of ineffective provisions and simplification of procedures for operators and national administrations, improved harmonisation by limiting exceptions, reinforcement of a risk-based approach on controls;

• imports: simplification through a compliance regime for control bodies;

• small farmers: significant simplification through group certification allowing for more proportionate inspection and record-keeping requirements;

State of Play:

Adopted on 30 May 2018: Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and labelling of organic products

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

The main changes in the adopted act compared to the Commission’s proposal are the following:

- on production rules: while the Commission proposed a strengthening and harmonisation of production rules by removing various derogations and exceptions, the text adopted by the legislator maintains several derogations but for all Member States and only transitionally;

- on control: the Commission proposed moving to the risk based approach to official controls, the final text foresees maintaining the risk based approach in specific cases;

- on seeds: possibility to develop organic heterogeneous material introduced by the legislator.