Agriculture has always been a key sector for the EU, presently accounting for about a third of the Union’s expenses. Both traditional agriculture and organic farming have their place within EU policy.
For the small but steadily developing organic production sector, the European Commission has proposed to review the existing rules. But a meeting of agriculture ministers this week in Brussels exposed that Member States are still far from a common position on the issue.
According to EU statistics, organic farming increased by 13% per year between 2003 and 2011, up to a total of 9.6 million hectares, representing 5.4% of the EU’s agricultural land. However, despite these advances, organic producers have not been able to keep up with the growing demand. The market increasingly depends on imports from non-EU countries, which sometimes apply different interpretations and quality of enforcement. At the same time, various cases of fraud have come to light over the last couple of years, as well as a growing concern on pesticide residues in organic produce. This has led the European Commission to table a proposal to update the sector’s regulations.
Presenting his plans in March 2014, the European Commissioner for Agriculture at that time, Dacian Ciolos, was anxious to strengthen organic food production in Europe. By the same token, the review aimed at ensuring the quality of organic products sold under the European organic logo. The initiative, however, raised fears among some producers and Member States of increased restrictions on production and imports.
A first discussion on the text by the agriculture ministers of the 28 EU Member States in December ended without agreement. Last Monday 16 March, under the impulse of the Latvian EU Presidency, the ministers moved ahead on some aspects of the proposals. Yet disagreements still persist, with Austria and the Netherlands calling on Commissioner Phil Hogan to retract the plans.
The most debated issues in the proposal include:
- Imports of organic food: must exporting countries be submitted to EU norms and standards? Some Member States fear this will put developing countries at a disadvantage, while others demand a level playing field for both EU and non-EU organic products.
- So-called mixed farms: can producers grow organic alongside non-organic foodstuffs?
- The presence of non-authorized substances in organic food: maintain the present system of controls on pesticide residues during the production process, or start imposing binding maximum levels for products?
On several of these issues, the Latvian Presidency is inching towards a compromise position that might be accepted by a qualified majority of Member States. At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Hogan said he hoped for an agreement at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 11 May.
However, time is tight. Pressure was raised another notch when Frans Timmermans, vice-president in the new European Commission of Jean-Claude Juncker, included the Commission’s draft proposal on organic farming among his list of 80 proposals that would be axed if no agreement would be reached by late June.
But the European Parliament doesn’t want to be pushed by the Commission’s deadlines, and wants to take time for a serious consideration of the matter. The EP’s Agriculture commission (AGRI) will discuss the organic farming proposals next Tuesday 24 March.
Following amendments and an opinion by the Parliament’s ENVI Committee – that will look at the environmental implications of the proposal – AGRI could put its views to a vote in June or July, allowing for a plenary vote in Parliament either in July or in September. Only then would the Council, Parliament and Commission be able to start trialogue negotiations on the reform of organic farming in the EU. Many in the sector hope that “Brussels” can soon put an end to the nagging uncertainties surrounding organic farming in the EU.