Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming
Date: 2004-11-17
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: action programme, organic farming, organic product

C 71/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

22.3.2005

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission to the
Council and the European Parliament European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming

(2005/C 71/04)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming (COM(2004) 415 final) and its annex the Commission
Staff Working Paper European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming (SEC(2004) 739);

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 5 July 2004 to consult it on this subject,
under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

Having regard to the decision of its President of 27 January 2004 to instruct its Commission for Sustain-
able Development to draw up an opinion on this subject;

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agri-
cultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs (1) and the
amendments hereto;

Having regard to the Commission's proposal for a Council Regulation on support for rural development
by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
(COM(2004) 490 final - 2004/
0161(CNS));

Having regard to its opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the Euro-
pean Parliament: Mid-Term Review of
the Common Agricultural Policy (COM(2002) 394 final) – CdR
188/2002 fin (2);

Having regard to its opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European
Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Directions towards
sustainable agriculture (COM(1999) 22 final) - CdR 183/99 fin (3);

Having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 251/2004 rev. 1) adopted on 20 September 2004 by its Commis-
sion for Sustainable Development (rapporteur: Mr Jyrki Myllyvirta, Mayor of Mikkeli (FI/EPP)),

Whereas:

1)

2)

3)

organic food and farming play an increasingly important role in bringing agricultural production
into line with the needs of the market, taking account of the wishes of people in the EU with regard
to the achievement of a high standard of environmental conservation, protection of resources and
animal welfare and strengthening sustainable development in Europe;

the Commission communication rightly emphasises the dual societal role of organic farming: on the
one hand, it is an environmentally friendly and safe method of producing food and other agri-
cultural products that responds to consumer concerns and is driven by market forces; on the other
hand, it provides benefits to society by promoting, in particular, sustainable development, environ-
mental protection and animal welfare;

special attention needs to be paid to securing the conditions for organic production under varying
circumstances in the various regions of the Community. The standards for organic products must be
reliable, uniform, clear and consistent with the principles of organic production, but at the same
time they must offer real opportunities for production and processing in the future throughout the
Community under different natural and market conditions.

Unanimously adopted the following opinion at
18 November 2004 in Brussels (meeting of 17 November):

its 57th plenary session, held on 17 and

(1) OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p.1
(2) OJ C 73, 26.3.2003, p.25
(3) OJ C 156, 6.6.2000, p.40

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1. The Committee of the Regions' views

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

that

notes

1.1
the communication is a positive and
welcome step forward in terms of recognising the value of
organic production and improving the prerequisites for it in
the European Union;

commends the fact that the communication has been
1.2
drawn up with great care and in close cooperation with the
interested parties;

market. The dismantling of artificial trade barriers would help
to promote a balance between supply and demand. On the one
hand, the development of the sector is currently hampered in
several markets by problems of raw material availability and,
on the other hand, it is important from the viewpoint of more
remote and sparsely populated production regions that there be
no barriers to marketing products in areas where there is more
demand;

1.9
agrees that the proposal to improve the collection of
statistical data on organic farming is justified from the point of
view of monitoring the development of the market.

stresses that organic production has significant local
1.3
and regional effects and that local and regional authorities have
a key role to play in implementing the objectives laid down in
the communication;

International trade considerations

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

1.4
feels that the communication is rather general in scope
and that its objectives are modest in certain respects, since the
share of organic production needs to be increased if significant
environmental effects are to be achieved.

Market mechanisms

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1.5
emphasises the importance of market promotion and
improving consumer awareness of organic products and
expects the Community to also participate in funding the
campaigns conducted in this regard. Improving awareness of
organic products is part of wider information and promotion
activities aimed at raising people's awareness of the principles
of sustainable development. The funding of campaigns must be
organised in such a way that small producers and SMEs in the
food sector also have a chance to participate in them;

for

1.6 welcomes the proposals for increasing the use of the
EU organic logo,
the present alongside national and
regional logos. It is essential that there be uniform and reliable
criteria for the use of the EU logo on products from within and
outside the EU. It should be possible to add to the EU organic
logo information regarding the region of origin of
the
products;

recognises that the need to harmonise organic stan-
1.7
dards is crucial
to the success of the Community's market
promotion initiatives and endorses the communication's propo-
sals in this regard. The proposals to complete the standards (for
processed animal products, animal welfare, environmental stan-
dards etc) and establish harmonised standards for new product
groups (aquaculture, organic wines) merit support;

1.8
stresses that the harmonisation of standards is essential
for ensuring the free movement of goods in the internal

1.10
emphasises that, as argued in the communication,
there is also a case for promoting the removal of barriers to
international trade in organic products. Free trade would guar-
antee adequate availability in areas where local supply is insuffi-
cient and also boost the use of environmentally friendly cultiva-
tion methods outside the Community. International trade is
warranted where it is needed to achieve a scale of activity that
is economically worthwhile. At the same time,
it should be
stressed that the principles of sustainable development, which
lie at the heart of organic farming, speak in favour of strength-
ening local and regional production and marketing. When
including third countries in the equivalency list, attention
should be paid not only to the appropriate rules that have to
be met for organic production but also to compliance with the
other EU food production standards.

Community agricultural policy

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

1.11
notes that promotion of organic farming should be
given more prominence in both Community and Member
States' agricultural policy. A larger share of Community and
national funds granted for the support of more environmentally
friendly agricultural production should be allocated to organic
production than is currently the case. To maximise the positive
environmental effects, organic farming should also be a viable
alternative for farmers in cultivated areas which are best suited
to intensive farming;

that,

stresses

1.12
specialisation,
instead of
support should be given to projects and initiatives which lead
to better integration of organic crop production and livestock
farming. In addition, efforts should be made to find ways of
improving the prerequisites for organic livestock production;

regional

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1.13
endorses the proposals put forward in the communi-
cation for helping and encouraging national decision-makers to
use different forms of support in the widest possible way.
Studies show that organic businesses in rural areas often
receive income from many different sources and that they are
active in networks of operators in rural areas. Therefore it is
important from the viewpoint of rural diversity and main-
taining the vitality of rural areas that organic farming and
in funding under rural
production be given greater weight
development programmes;

1.14
concurs with the communication that products which
are labelled as containing genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) may not be labelled as organic and that the thresholds
for the accidental presence of GMOs in organic production
must be same as the general labelling threshold. The general
thresholds for seeds, which have still not been established,
should be set at a level which can also be applied in organic
production;

1.15
believes it important that, in the longer term, ways be
considered as to how to incorporate the environmental costs of
food production in the prices of products and thus strengthen
the market position of environmentally friendly products from
the region concerned.

Research

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

highlights the importance of

1.16
research in solving
problems encountered in the production and marketing of
in its infancy.
organic products in a sector which is still
Research on topics specifically related to the organic sector
should be funded separately according to their relevance and
development objectives, both under national and EU-funded
programmes;

1.17 would like to strengthen the capacity of regional
research and educational establishments and advisory bodies
dealing with the challenges of organic production. Their activ-
ities help to promote rural development more widely. Opera-
tors in the organic sector are mainly small producers or
producer organisations whose own resources are not sufficient
for them to gain a firm grasp of the complex issues at hand.

Brussels, 17 November 2004

Enforcement and inspection

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

is pleased that the Action Plan deals thoroughly with
1.18
enforcement and inspection and the need to develop the stan-
dards that underlie them. Standards and inspection are impor-
tant because they underpin the integrity of organic products.
Given that public funds are used to support the organic chain
and the fact
that consumers pay a premium for organic
products, there must be assurance that products comply with
organic rules throughout the Community;

1.19
points out that cumbersome controls are a major cost
factor, particularly for small organic producers. Therefore
inspection should be improved by introducing a risk-based
approach which targets operators who present the highest risk.
In view of the public good element of organic farming, there
are grounds for using public funds to cover part of the costs
arising from inspection and enforcement and, in particular, for
making sure that the costs of enforcement and inspection do
not act as a barrier to starting production.

2. The Committee of the Regions' recommendations

requests that,

2.1
in implementing the European Action
Plan for Organic Food and Farming, particular attention be
paid to securing the conditions for the pursuit of such activity
throughout the EU and that implementation take place in close
cooperation with Member States and local and regional autho-
rities;

2.2
considers it essential that the implementation of the
Community measures be coordinated with that of local and
regional measures and that the Commission monitor the imple-
mentation of the Action Plan without placing an additional
financial or administrative burden on the Member States and,
where necessary, make new proposals;

2.3
encourages Member States to use rural development
measures to promote markets for local and regional organic
products;

encourages operators in the public sector and publicly
2.4
funded operators, such as local and regional authorities, to
promote organic products in, for example, schools, day care
centres and other institutions.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Peter STRAUB