B4-0022, 0023, 0026, 0027, 0028, 0031, 0037 and 0041/99

Resolution on organic livestock production (amendment of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the proposal to supplement Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs to include livestock production (COM(96)0366 - C4-0481/96 - 96/0205(CNS)),

- having regard to its opinion thereon of 14 May 1997 ((OJ C 167, 2.6.1997, p. 55.)),

- having regard to the Commission's Green Paper on food safety,

- having regard to its resolution of 9 October 1998 on quality policy for agricultural products and agri-foodstuffs ((OJ C 328, 26.10.1998, p. 232.)),

A. whereas the European model of farming consists essentially of quality, rural development and respect for the environment; whereas organic farming contributes to agricultural diversification and has major development potential,

B. whereas consumers are increasingly interested in food safety and the origins and production methods of agricultural products and foodstuffs; whereas, in recent years, consumer interest has focused on environment and animal welfare, and whereas the new requirements of European consumers have encouraged the development of organic products,

C. whereas 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 organic farming is practised by farmers who have freely and voluntarily undertaken to respect the requirements and specific controls,

E. whereas discussions on extending the scope of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 to organic animal products resulted in a consensus between Parliament and the Commission whose modified proposal (COM(97)0747), which is under discussion in the Council, incorporates a large number of Parliament's amendments,

F. whereas the provisional guidelines emerging from the Agriculture Council of 15 December 1998 on this proposal confirm the will to extend the scope of application, but whereas they are largely inadequate in respect of the technical standards needed to implement it,

G. whereas the work currently being carried out on the Codex Alimentarius concerning the production, labelling and marketing of organic products calls for a clear common position by the European Union in these discussions,

1. Calls on the Council and the Commission to reaffirm the principles of organic farming which is a concept of sustainable farming involving an equilibrium between land, plants and animals making it possible to maintain and gradually increase the productive capacity of farmland, to produce high- quality food, to maintain the biodiversity of both domestic and traditionally cultivated varieties and the uncultivated areas in the immediate vicinity of holdings, and to give added value to organic producers on the market;

2. Recalls its demand for a harmonised European logo for organic products as a uniform means of drawing consumers' attention to agricultural production methods;

3. Calls on the Commission and the Council to impose strict limits on derogations in connection with extreme or exceptional weather conditions and/or transitional schemes, and calls for a decision to be taken as soon as possible on the Commission's modified proposal;

4. Calls on the Council and the Commission to take account of the traditional production methods successfully practised in organic farming in the Member States, and notes that in certain difficult regions tethering of livestock in winter does not adversely affect their welfare;

5. Calls on the Commission not to rule out the possibility of withdrawing its modified proposal if the text negotiated in the Council departs from it too much;

6. Urges the Commission to uphold the European approach on organic production in the context of the World Trade Organisation;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the Director-General of the WTO.