The European Commission launched a call for evidence from 21 October to 18 November, with a view to the revision of the rules on organic production recently announced by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen (see EUROPE 13722/15).
The aim of this revision is to clarify the rules for importing organic products under the equivalence scheme, to extend the recognition of equivalent organic standards from third countries beyond 31 December 2026, in order to avoid any disruption to trade, and to simplify certain rules in a targeted way to make EU organic production more competitive and reduce the regulatory burden. It comes after a judgment by the Court of Justice of the EU (‘Herbaria’ case - https://aeur.eu/f/j3g ) concerning imports of organic products.
The Commission is due to present a proposal for a regulation at a later date.
According to the call for evidence document, Regulation 2018/848 provides a solid basis for a reliable and growing organic sector in the EU. However, Member States and stakeholders have regularly highlighted the unnecessary complexity of the current regulatory framework.
Among the aspects identified as particularly complex: - animal production rules for quail, in particular waiting times after allopathic veterinary treatment, poultry houses for fattening and access to open-air areas for poultry up to a certain age; - products and substances used for cleaning and disinfecting processing and storage facilities; - eligibility criteria for groups of operators and small sellers of unpackaged organic products.
Link to the call for evidence document: https://aeur.eu/f/j37 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)