Copa and Cogeca welcome compromise deal struck by EU Farm Ministers on review of EU organic legislation.
In a meeting with the Latvian Presidency, Cogeca President Christian Pees thanked the Presidency for their good work and the direction of the compromise, saying it improves the Commission’s proposal in a number of ways, especially the maintenance of mixed farms in the sector. “This will allow farmers to gradually develop outlets for all their products and thus safeguard their farm's viability without being exposed to serious risks. Moreover, a ban could have deterred farmers from converting to organic farming or maintaining this specific production method”, he explained.
Chairman of Copa-Cogecas Working Party on Organic Farming Kees Van Zelderen went on to support the move towards ensuring that imports will also have to comply with EU production standards. This will help to ensure fairer competition between EU farmers and farmers in non-EU countries whose products can bear the same EU organic logo, and will maintain consumer confidence. We urge MEPs to go in this direction. We also invite European Parliament to work on the basis of the EU Council’s compromise agreement and on the way to harmonise the approaches taken by the control bodies and control authorities in case of adventitious contamination.
Wrapping up, Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said “We call on MEPs to act quickly because farmers cannot afford a long period of time without having a political decision as they need to develop their businesses and make the necessary investments”.