Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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# 91998E0979

**WRITTEN QUESTION No. 979/98 by Karin RIIS-JØRGENSEN to the Commission. Mutual recognition of organic product labelling in the Community** 
  
*Official Journal C 323 , 21/10/1998 P. 0101*

  

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0979/98 by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ELDR) to the Commission (18 March 1998)

Subject: Mutual recognition of organic product labelling in the Community

Can the labelling of organic products be mutually recognized in the Community?

Under the present system (Council Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 ((OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1. )) on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs), operators who produce organic products are subject to an inspection system and must pay the costs of inspection.

This means, in practice, that operators wishing to export to another Member State must be members of the inspection authority in the importing Member State and pay that inspection body. No account is taken of the fact that the necessary inspection has already been carried out in the exporting Member State, which increases exporters' costs in a situation where the product fulfills the criteria for organic produce in both the country of production and the importing country.

The present system, therefore, has genuinely discriminatory effects and constitutes an obstacle to trade in the internal market.

Presumably the Commission would agree that an inspection carried out in one Member State should not need to be repeated when the product is exported to another Member State?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (30 April 1998)

The Commission is of the opinion that any product which has been produced in a Member State or imported from a third country in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs can be placed on the market in any Member State. Member States may therefore not impose barriers to imports of such products for other Member States.

However, the marketing of organic products in certain Member States or regions thereof is traditionally strongly linked with certain private marks, which in these countries or regions have a very high attraction to the consumer. In certain cases the holders of such marks set supplementary requirements with regard to production standards or inspection requirements. Such supplementary requirements are regulated by private law. A producer using this mark has only to respect such supplementary requirements if he brings his products on the market with the particular mark they have been set for.

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