MEP Camilla Laureti (S&D, Italian), European Parliament’s rapporteur on the organic farming proposal, announced on 5 May that she intended to proceed rapidly and in a targeted manner, focusing on the priorities and truly urgent adjustments requested by the sector (see EUROPE 13795/15).
The European Commission’s proposal primarily aims to extend recognition of the organic production and control systems of 11 third countries as equivalent to those of the EU until 2036, while the Commission renegotiates these agreements.
During a meeting of European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture, Ms Laureti noted that 228 amendments had been tabled and that the coordinators had decided to use a simplified procedure, due to a very tight timetable. The key date is 31 December 2026: if this deadline is missed, equivalence agreements with major trading partners will cease to be valid, which would have a major impact on global organic trade (particularly between the EU and the US, which together account for a large share of the market).
Regarding the extension period, Éric Sargiacomo (S&D, French) argued that a ten-year timeframe was excessive and wanted to reduce it to five years. A number of MEPs believe that the proposed 5% margin of tolerance for imported organic ingredients used in EU organic products is unacceptable.
Camilla Laureti intends to “make drastic choices” among the amendments, focusing specifically on the most urgent issues. In her view, topics addressing specific aspects of organic farming (such as cattle farming, pastures, free-range chicken and pigs, organic wine, sea salt and certain non-organic feedstuffs) can be dealt with without amending the regulation, but rather through implementation and secondary legislation already planned by the European Commission.
Ms Laureti emphasised that technical and political negotiations with the shadow rapporteurs are already underway and that the next meeting is scheduled for 21 May. She anticipates a vote in Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture on 21 July, so that trilogue negotiations can begin promptly (likely in September).
Link to the amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/lv4 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)