Council Conclusions of 17 December 2003 — Strategy for a European action plan for organic food and farming
Date: 2003-12-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: common agricultural policy, environmental policy, organic farming, organic product

7.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 34/3

COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS

of 17 December 2003

Strategy for a European action plan for organic food and farming

(2004/C 34/03)

In May 2001 a conference entitled ‘Organic Food and Farming
— Towards Partnership and Action in Europe’, organised by
the Danish Ministry of Agriculture, was held in Denmark. That
conference followed on from one held in Austria in 1999 and
was aimed at introducing an action plan for further develop-
ment of organic farming in Europe. The matter was placed on
the agenda for the Agriculture Council meeting on 19 June
2001.

to maintain and develop the

the new CAP has a crucial part to play in ensuring that it is
sector's
actually possible
for which purpose it is essential that the
production base,
the different
action plan also evaluates
instruments for implementation of
the reform on organic
farming and thus gives additional guidance to Member States
on their choices regarding these instruments;

impact of

the

The European Commission prepared a paper containing an
analysis of
the possibility of a European action plan for
organic food and farming (15619/02 of 20 December 2002).

organic farming has been shown to serve an important
purpose in environmental policies, particularly in reducing
harmful emissions into the atmosphere, in combating desertifi-
cation and in protecting and conserving water resources and
natural habitats;

At meetings held in Brussels in 2003, Member States unani-
mously welcomed the Commission's initiative and called for
work to be set in hand on drawing up the action plan.

At its meeting in Salzburg in November 2003, the European
Conference on Rural Development stressed the key aim of
strengthening the
farming sector
competitiveness of
through diversification, innovation and value added products,
taking into account the diversity of agricultural potential
in
different rural areas.

the

Whereas:

there is a need to standardise the wide variety of definitions of
‘organic farming’ used by bodies such as the European Union,
the United Nations (FAO and Codex Alimentarius), individual
countries and international organisations (the International
Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)). This
makes it necessary to try and agree on a single definition;

the key
there is a need to make organic farming one of
components of the European food supply chain, along with
typical products and high-quality products, as a forward-
looking factor for sustainability of the entire farming and agri-
foodstuffs sector. Organic farming therefore needs
to be
supported by a suitable integrated European research and inno-
vation system;

organic farming has been seen to play a vital role in protecting
biodiversity and conserving non-renewable resources used in
agriculture, as well as for the implementation of rural develop-
ment policy and for food safety and quality, thereby acting as a
driving force for
the entire European farming and agri-
foodstuffs sector;

in the light of the decisions taken by the Union concerning
GMO production, marketing and labelling and of the guidelines
for coexistence of genetically modified crops with conventional
and organic farming, the question of compatibility between
GMO production and organic production needs
to be
considered,
in particular regarding avoidance of adventitious
presence of GMO;

the expansion of organic farming should be placed on a
permanent basis by an increase in demand for organic
products. Therefore initiatives
to improve the marketing
conditions and to ensure better consumer information play a
key role.

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION THEREFORE:

— calls on the Commission to update the objectives set in the
preparatory paper, so as to tailor measures under the
European action plan to the strategic role to be played
by organic farming under
the Union's environmental
policies and to background developments as a result of
CAP reform;

— calls on the Commission, in the light of the decisions taken
by the Union concerning GMO production, marketing and
labelling and of the guidelines for coexistence of genetically
modified crops with conventional and organic farming, to
include among the action plan's strategic objectives the
protection and enhancement of organic products by
means of appropriate measures for organic production,
inter alia control of adventitious presence of GMO;

C 34/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.2.2004

least

and of

— calls on the Commission to promote, not

inter-
‘organic
nationally, moves to arrive at a definition of
farming’
‘organic product’. The Commission
should accordingly evaluate the costs and benefits of
using the European logo for all organic products irre-
spective of
their origin without excluding the use of
other logos, and introduce effective campaigns, targeting
all European consumers,
to promote consumption and
trade with third countries of such products and improve
their free movement;

the

evaluation of possibilities
to encourage voluntary initiatives

— calls on the Commission to include among the action plan's
for
strategic objectives
Member States
to
establish rural areas for the advancement of value-added
production, such as that of organic, typical and traditional
local development of quality
products,
products. In the aim of thus increasing the competitiveness
of the farming sector as well as the organisation between
the various operators of the organic production chain, the
diversity of agricultural potential
in different rural areas
shall be taken into account;

in a drive for

— calls on the Commission to further examine the need of

setting up, at European level:

(a) an independent Committee to provide scientific and
technical advice, guide research and innovation in
organic
the
framework of a network between centres of excellence
in individual Member States;

promote

farming

synergy

and

in

(b) an economic observatory to evaluate the evolution of

the supply and demand of organic produce;

— calls on the Commission to continue work on adapting
basic inspection rules, with the aim of further bringing
the entire organic supply chain within the inspection
system following a risk-based approach, of enhancing
product
streamlining bureaucratic
procedures. In doing so due regard shall also be given to
imports of organic products from third countries;

traceability

and of

— calls on the Commission, lastly, to inform the Council on
the progress of the European action plan by the end of
February 2004, with a view to final submission of the
plan by the end of May 2004.