No agreement on the European organic proposals between member states.
The proposals were originally tabled by the commission in 2014 to address consumer confidence in the organic brand. The dossier has now long been on minister’s desks and is a priority item for agreement after the commission gave member states six months to reach a conclusion. Consequently, the Latvian presidency has been working hard on the file, trying to find a common position which member states could agree to. A presidency paper circulated before the meeting included a set level on the presence of pesticides; any product (including imported products) found to have a higher residue threshold would lose their organic certification, irrespective of source of contamination. It also included concessions on the frequency of inspections for organic producers.
Come see the NFU at the National Organic Combinable Crops event 2015
Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan told the meeting that he was prepared to be flexible, but that an early agreement was vital to protect the organic brand. However, several member states still had concerns and felt they were unable to reach an agreement at the meeting. Greece in particular called for more time, arguing that the issue was too important to rush a decision, a point which was later backed up by Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Denmark.
Read more...
- NFU Organic Newletter - April
- EU organic proposals - NFU briefingpaper for members
- Come see the NFU at the National Organic Combinable Crops event 2015
Lord de Mauley (Defra) argued that the UK Government could accept the compromise proposed by the presidency on the minimum frequency for inspections however it was unable to agree to the threshold on unauthorised substances. The UK Government believes that organic farming should be about the process, rather than the end product, he said. In particular, he argued that innocent producers should not be penalised for contravening an arbitrary residue threshold due to circumstances beyond their control. (This point was strongly supported by Ireland who raised the point of "inadvertent cross contamination" from neighbouring holdings. The co-existence of both agricultural methods "is essential", he added, saying it would be "premature to introduce an EU-wide threshold") In view of all of this, Lord de Mauley told the council he would be unable to agree to the compromise position. Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands made similar points. Spain, Belgium and Italy were adamant about the need for a threshold.
The item will now be discussed at the June council meeting where it the presidency hopes an agreement can be reached on the remaining outstanding issues.
NFU Work
Over the past year the NFU has been working closely together with UK organic farmers, stakeholders and Defra to help shape the proposals into a workable format for producers.The proposals that lay before the Agriculture Council now, are vastly different to those which were published in March 2014. Some of the most notable changes that have taken place in the new revised proposals:
1. Mixed holdings are now allowed (previously not the case in the original proposal).
2. Disbudding of cattle now allowed (previously not the case in the original proposal).
3. Derogations for seed and feed to be maintained post 2017/2018, (previously not the case in the original proposal).
The NFU will continue to work collaboratively with Defra and UK/EU stakeholders to get the best possible regulation for members. The NFU wants to see a regulation which will allow the organic sector to grow in line with increased consumer demand.
To read more on the NFU work in this area, read the April organic newsletter here for a more complete update.