The Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU will present a new compromise text on implementation of organic farming rules to national experts on Monday 20 February. It will seek a new mandate on Monday 27 February to continue negotiations with the European Parliament in March (see EUROPE 11712).
In December of last year, the three institutions of the EU failed to come to agreement on organic farming. Discussions return to the problematic areas: seeds, pesticides, ending derogations, the database and crops grown under glass. The Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) will discuss the new compromise text on 20 and 27 February, ahead of trialogue meetings in March.
The main changes made by the Maltese Presidency in the compromise text, which has been seen by EUROPE are the following.
Definition of biodynamic preparations. Several delegations questioned the reference to the non-governmental organisation Demeter. The Presidency has therefore deleted this reference.
Seeds. Most delegations expressed concerns about the addition of Article 10a spelling out specific provisions applicable to heterogeneous material, with the aim of facilitating the EU-wide marketing of such material. Although some delegations had sympathy with the Parliament proposal, they were of the view that, if such specific rules were to be introduced, they should be introduced under the framework of the horizontal legislation on seeds. The Presidency is of the view that the Commission should preferably use its existing implementing powers under the horizontal seeds legislation (Directives 54/2002, 55/2002, 56/2002 and 57/2002) in order to promote the marketing of plant reproductive material fit for organic production (at the present time, there are no organic seeds on the market). The Commission is invited to provide a statement to that effect and the compromise text deletes virtually all of Article 10a, despite its importance to Parliament. “Delegations should therefore be ready, in return, to accommodate the European Parliament on issues that are very important for the co-legislator (e.g. pesticides, databases, ending of derogation, empowerment for wine)”, state the explanations of the Maltese Presidency.
Approval on wine. The Presidency would like to propose that prohibited oenological practices should be introduced in the basic act (in Annex II, Part V) and only supplemented by delegated act. The Presidency proposes to introduce permitted oenological practices in the basic act (in Annex II, Part V) and amend them also by delegated act. “This would ensure a level playing field for operators”, it says. With regard to the particular oenological practice of heat treatments, the Presidency accepts Parliament amendment 394, i.e. to increase the temperature from 70°C to 75°C. The co-legislator is of the view that the oenological criteria on wine should be modified by delegated act.
Databases. The Presidency has taken note of the concerns raised by several delegations on the possible administrative burden resulting from the requirement to monitor and fill in the databases and systems for livestock. The Presidency is also aware that some mandatory databases are already in place in the case of conventional animals, with the purpose of identification and registration of bovine, ovine, caprine and porcine animals. These systems could perhaps serve as a basis, and be adapted to meet that objective in the organic sector.
Pesticides. This is the most controversial issue, with the Commission wanting thresholds for the presence of unauthorised substances and the Council divided. Several delegations are in favour of setting up a harmonised system where once a maximum threshold for pesticides is reached, automatic decertification of the product could be triggered (that is to say, it could no longer be sold as organic). Other delegations consider that no reference to pesticides should be introduced in the text because, in their view, this could have a negative impact on consumer confidence. This position is shared by the European Parliament.
The Presidency proposes the following main changes: - with a view to simplifying the text and improving readability, a new Article 20b has been created to separate the precautionary measures to avoid the presence of non-authorised substances and measures to be taken in cases of the presence of non-authorised substances; - paragraph 4a has been deleted so as to grant the necessary flexibility to member states to set up their own national procedures on how to deal with the presence of unauthorised products; - paragraph 6a has been deleted: this paragraph related to the automatic decertification of an organic product when more than two non-authorised pesticides are detected in the product above twice the limit of determination; - the deadline for the report to be issued by the Commission has been increased from two to five years after the date of application of the regulation; - this report may be accompanied by a legislative proposal but, in the present compromise text, the reference to the establishment of levels of non-authorised products or substances as well as the reference to a compensation scheme, have been deleted; - the second sub-paragraph of paragraph 7, has been deleted: this sub-paragraph allowed those countries having stricter rules in place on pesticides the option of continuing to apply them until 2024; with the changes made to the text, this possibility is still granted but without any deadline and, additionally, the possibility has now been extended to member states which do not currently have specific rules in place on pesticides to introduce stricter measures, on condition that these measures do not impede the marketing of organic products produced in other member states, under the EU rules; - the Commission “shall” (rather than “may”) adopt an implementing act laying down harmonised rules, in particular regarding the methodology on detection and evaluation of the presence of non-authorised products and substances.
Unpackaged products. The Presidency proposes to delete the second subparagraph of Article 24(2) because it fuelled criticism by a number of delegations about the lack of rationale for the limits of 500 kg/year and €5000/year that could trigger the notification obligations for retailers selling unpacked products. The solution proposed is that member states may decide whether unpacked products are covered by the specific notification obligation. However, in all cases, the Presidency considers it useful to add an obligation for those operators selling unpacked products to at least inform the appropriate authorities about their activities. Moreover, the retailer should not be subject to the additional rules on official controls for organic products.
The Presidency also proposes minor changes on annual checks and imports, and seeks to find a compromise on crops grown in containers (under glass).
The text may be consulted at: http://bit.ly/2kJ5oa2 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)