A4-0280/98

Resolution on quality policy for agricultural products and agri-foodstuffs

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Miranda on future Community rules to promote high-quality regional specialities (B4-0028/96),

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A4-0280/98),

A. whereas all the food appearing on the internal market should be safe from the public health point of view, and whereas European rules need to be continually updated and adequate control mechanisms need to be created,

B. whereas consumers are increasingly interested not only in food safety but also in the origins and production methods of agricultural products or foodstuffs; whereas consumer interest has been focused in recent years on the environment and animal welfare; whereas a number of market operators have already responded to this and there are a variety of quality marks for agricultural products and foodstuffs,

C. whereas, however, consumers wish to have guarantees to enable them to exercise their freedom of choice and must therefore have clear, readily comprehensible, reliable and honest information,

D. whereas it took the initiative in setting aside, in the 1995 budget, ECU 10 million for developing a European quality mark for agricultural products and foodstuffs,

E. whereas the Commission is currently considering the findings of a study which it has funded with the aim of listing and analysing the existing quality marks in Europe; whereas the Commission also wants this study to shed light on what the principal market operators expect in respect of these quality marks,

F. whereas there is already a European quality policy for agricultural products which is aimed at organic farming and the Community protection of geographical indications and designations of origin, traditional specialities and the specific quality products of agriculture in the outermost regions; whereas these categories account for approximately 10% of the market in Europe,

G. whereas protected products play a fundamental role in ensuring diversity of the agricultural products and foodstuffs available, thereby promoting consumer choice,

H. whereas, however, horizontal and vertical Community rules already exist to safeguard public health and ensure compliance with minimum conditions of animal welfare (during the raising, transport and slaughter of animals),

1. Is of the opinion that the agricultural sector should derive its income as far as possible from the market and that European quality policy can make a positive contribution not only to this but also to the conservation of the countryside and regional development;

2. Acknowledges that the concept of 'quality' is a subjective one which cannot be defined in a uniform way; is therefore of the opinion that European quality policy cannot replace, but can only complement and coordinate, existing national, regional and local quality policy;

3. Considers investment in infrastructure to be a vital element in the reform of the CAP and of its rural development pillar, which will permit the development of local markets and of their marketing structures and greater linkage between local producers and the relevant local supply channels, as a way of promoting agricultural products of special quality; considers it essential, in this context, to support the development of organic farming practices and better promotion of regional and traditional products of special quality;

4. Is of the opinion that the concept of quality, based on the ability to ensure optimum nutrition and public health, health security and ethical conduct during production, and also based on environmental protection, animal welfare, guarantees of the origin of products and transparency of information, should play an increasingly prominent role in international negotiations and that the Commission should take the initiative in this respect in the forthcoming WTO negotiations;

5. Calls for Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 on organic production methods to be extended to include animal products, and for the introduction of a European logo for biological products as a uniform means of drawing consumers' attention to the biological production methods of products; furthermore, is of the opinion that the introduction of a logo should be accompanied by a European promotion programme and that its value would be further enhanced in the eyes of consumers if production conditions were strict and checks reliable, equivalent and harmonised and performed by a body independent of any operator;

6. Calls for the development and preparation of arrangements for new types of professional quality expert, particularly for sensory and organoleptic analysis of products;

7. Calls on the Commission to evaluate and, where necessary, to accelerate the procedures for the granting of Community protection of geographical indications, designations of origin and traditional specialities on condition, of course, that the conditions which apply to protected denominations of origin and protected geographical indications are completely met;

8. Takes the view that European legislation, relating, inter alia, to the labelling of the products concerned, should accompany the growth in quality marks in order to guarantee their transparency for consumers; quality marks recognised at a European level must satisfy strict and precise basic conditions, including voluntary participation in the scheme, technical details available for public inspection, and independent monitoring, by a State body or an independent agency acting on the instructions of the State, at the cost of the interested parties;

9. Calls on the Commission to publish the initial results of its study as soon as possible, and in particular to indicate what agricultural and horticultural products would be suitable in the first instance for a European quality policy; expects that the study will show that a number of existing quality marks for agricultural products and foodstuffs in Europe are based on the same conditions and criteria; calls on the Commission to study the potential for a European quality mark for the relevant agricultural products and foodstuffs, as a complement to existing national or regional quality marks;

10. Calls for the introduction of a third European quality category based on environmental criteria in the broadest sense (including animal welfare); accordingly, and by analogy with organic farming, advocates a European code for good agricultural practice and European rules on integrated agriculture; in conclusion, establishing a European quality mark can make this new quality category apparent to consumers in a uniform way;

11. Points out that, through this third European quality category, consumer demand for more environmentally-compatible agricultural products and foodstuffs could be satisfied and, at the same time, environmentally-friendly farming should be promoted; calls on the Commission to study whether this quality mark should be based on life cycle assessments (LCAs) for the product in question in order to obtain clear and verifiable criteria which are appropriate to the different production methods and conditions in the Union;

12. Calls for traditional regional products to be required to comply with Community rules on production and particularly their certification, and for the necessary measures to be implemented by means of simple methods and possibly at a decentralized level;

13. Calls on the Commission, as part of the integrated policy on rural development, to promote decentralised regional processing and marketing organisations more than hitherto, and to give priority to promoting the processing of quality products by means of knock-on financing;

14. Realises that, if there is no market demand, a European quality mark will not be able to replace the existing quality marks, but wishes to point to the advantages of adding a European quality mark to the existing ones: transparency for the consumer and completion of the internal market with retention of the value of the quality mark when products cross the internal borders;

15. Calls on the Commission to indicate how producers of quality products can be rewarded more by the market, or how they can benefit from special tax provisions, incorporating incentives, and how promotion funds can be employed to encourage citizens of Member States of the European Union to consume quality products;

16. Urges the Commission to uphold European quality policy in the context of the WTO and to guarantee the quality and compliance with health standards of imported agricultural products and foodstuffs on the European market, preferably through equivalence agreements with commercial partners;

17. Calls on the Commission, furthermore, to direct the market instruments provided for in sectoral COMs and structural provisions so as to assign priority to products which bear a quality mark recognized at European level;

18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.