23 Amendments of Laurenţiu REBEGA related to 2014/0100(COD)
Amendment 375 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Research projects have demonstrated that consumer confidence is crucial in the market for organic food. In the long run, rules that are not trustworthy can jeopardise public confidence and lead to market failure. Therefore, the sustainable development of organic production in the Union should be based on sound production rules which are harmonised at Union level. In addition, those production rules shouldthis respect, a European Monitoring Office should be set up to enforce production rules and ensure product traceability so as to meet operators' and consumers' expectations regarding the quality of organic products and the compliance with the principles and rules laid down in this Regulation.
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Concerning soil management and fertilisation, conditions should be laid down for the use of cultivation practices allowed in organic plant production and for the use of fertilisers and conditioners. Member States should, in this respect, encourage producers in organic farming areas to form groups in order to reduce the risk of contamination by substances used in conventional farming.
Amendment 393 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19 a (new)
Recital 19 a (new)
(19a) Since groundwater is the main vector for the transport of residues generated by conventional farming practices, Member States should encourage organic farming practices in upstream areas.
Amendment 395 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) As livestock production naturally involves the management of agricultural land, where the manure is used to nourish crop production, landless livestock production should be prohibited. The choice of breeds should take account of their capacity to adapt to local conditions, their vitality and their resistance to disease, and a wide biological diversity should be encouraged, with priority being awarded to protecting and promoting local breeds.
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) Processed food should be labelled as organic only where all or almost all the ingredients of agricultural origin are organic. However, special labelling provisions should be laid down for processed foods which include agricultural ingredients that cannot be obtained organically, as is the case for products of hunting and fishing. Moreover, for the purposes of consumer information and transparency in the market, and to encourage the use of organic ingredients, it should also be made possible to refer to organic production in the ingredients list under certain conditions, and to the origin of organic products.
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52
Recital 52
(52) The labelling of agricultural products and foodstuffs should be subject to the general rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council32, and, in particular, strict compliance with the common labelling standard and the provisions aimed at preventing labelling that may confuse or mislead consumers. In addition, specific provisions relating to the labelling of organic products should be laid down in this Regulation. They should protect both the interests of operators in having their products correctly identified on the market and enjoying conditions of fair competition, and those of consumers in enabling them to make informed choices. __________________ 32 Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18).
Amendment 448 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) In order to create clarity for consumers throughout the Union market, the use of the organic production logo of the European Union should be made obligatory for all organic pre-packed food produced within the Union. It should otherwise be possible toThe possibility should also be assessed of mandatory use of that logo on a voluntary basis in the case of non pre-packed organic products produced within the Union or any organic products imported from third countries. The model of the organic production logo of the European Union should be set out in this Regulation.
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 58
Recital 58
(58) Organic production is only credible if accompanied by effective verification and controls at all stages of production, processing and distribution. Organic production should be subject to official controls or other official activities carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) No (XXX/XXXX) of the European Parliament and of the Council33 to verify compliance with the rules on organic production and labelling of organic products. Nevertheless, the official checks to verify the authenticity of organic production and compliance with the rules should not serve needlessly to increase bureaucracy and administrative burdens, either for the control bodies or for organic producers. __________________ 33 Regulation (EU) No XX/XXX of the European Parliament and of the Council of […] on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health, plant reproductive material, plant protection products and amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, 1829/2003, 1831/2003, 1/2005, 396/2005, 834/2007, 1099/2009, 1069/2009, 1107/2009, Regulations (EU) No 1151/2012, [….]/2013 [Office of Publications, please insert number of Regulation laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material], and Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC, 2008/120/EC and 2009/128/EC (Official controls Regulation) (OJ L …).
Amendment 462 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 60
Recital 60
(60) Small farmers in the Union face, individually, relatively high inspection costs and administrative burden linked to organic certification. A system of group certification should be allowed with a view to reducing the inspection and certification costs and the associated administrative burden, strengthening local networks, contributing to better market outlets and ensuring a level playing field with operators in third countries. For that reason, the concept of ‘group of operators’ should be introduced and defined and extended to include cross-border groups.
Amendment 497 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
This Regulation shall apply to agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘the Treaty’) and to some other products listed in Annex I to this Regulation, insofar as those agricultural products and those other products are intended to be produced, prepared, labelled, distributed, placed on the market, imported or exported as organic.
Amendment 501 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
This Regulation shall apply to any operator involved in activities, at any stage of production, preparation, labelling and distribution, relating to the products referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 515 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
(1a) ‘organic product’ means any product in whose composition ingredients are used which originate from organic farming and meet the conditions set out in Article 21(3)(iii) of this Regulation.
Amendment 525 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 7
(7) ‘group of operators' means a group in which each operator is a farmer who has a small holding of up to 5 hectares of utilised agricultural area, having an implemented control system and who may, in addition to producing food or feed, be engaged in processing of food or feed;
Amendment 582 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) maintenance of plant health by preventive measures, in particular the choice of appropriate species, varieties or heterogeneous materialpopulations resistant to pests and diseases, appropriate crop rotations, mechanical and physical methods and protection of the natural enemies of pests;
Amendment 616 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the entire agricultural holding or aquaculture operationholding shall be managed in compliance with the requirements applicable to organic production;.
Amendment 663 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. The Commission shall adopt by means of implementing acts, guidelines regarding the procedures to be followed and documentation to be submitted for the retroactive recognition of conversion period.
Amendment 732 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
In order to allow organic production to continue or recommence in the event of catastrophic circumstances and subject toin accordance with the principles laid down in Chapter II, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 providestablishing ofor the criteria to qualify such situations as catastrophic and laying downshall be provided for in this Regulation, through specific rules on how to deal with them, on monitoring and on reporting requirements.
Amendment 777 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 1
1. Products in which the presence of products or substances that have not been authorised in accordance with Article 19 is detected beyond the levels established taking account in particular of Directive 2006/125/EC, shall not be marketed as organic. Whenever a competent authority or, where appropriate, a control authority or control body receives reliable information or detects the presence of products or substances for which no authorisation has been given under Article 19 for the purposes listed in Article 19, it shall begin an investigation immediately to determine the origin and the cause of the contamination in order to verify conformity with Article 7(1)(b). On the basis of the results of this investigation, the competent authority or, where appropriate, the control authority or control body shall ensure that the products involved are not marketed as organic, if their presence is due to deliberate use by the operator or an avoidable contamination in the production process. A contamination shall be considered as avoidable when the operator: - has failed to install or maintain appropriate, proportionate measures to identify and avoid the risk of biological products becoming contaminated by unauthorised products or substances; - has not regularly reviewed and adjusted such appropriate measures, while the risk for contamination has clearly been perceptible; - has failed to take appropriate measures following requests from the competent authorities or, where appropriate, the control authority or body to take measures to avoid contamination; - has not complied with the relevant provisions of this Regulation and has failed to take necessary steps in the production process to avoid contamination. Based on the results of the investigation referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authority or, where appropriate, the control authority or body shall identify the potential shortcomings or non- conformities responsible for the presence of unauthorised products or substances. The operator concerned shall take the necessary corrective measures to avoid future contamination.
Amendment 783 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The control authority or control body shall keep records of the investigations carried out. By 30 June of each year at the latest, Member States shall transmit to the Commission the relevant information relating to the previous year concerning the nature of contamination detected, and in particular the cause, the source, the level of contamination and the volume and nature of products contaminated. By 31 December 2020 at the latest, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the presence of products or substances not authorised in accordance with Article 19 which had been detected in organic products. The report shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal establishing: - thresholds for unauthorised products or substances to be applied to organic products beyond which such products may not be marketed as organic products; - compensation systems for operators for losses in connection with the adventitious contamination of their products and where these operators have taken appropriate measures to avoid the risk of contamination. The Member States may draw in particular on instruments of the common agricultural policy to cover such losses, and a specific fund should be allocated to this end.
Amendment 840 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 5
Article 23 – paragraph 5
5. National and private logos may be used in the labelling, presentation and advertising of products which comply with this Regulation, provided that the conditions laid down in Article 21(3) are respected.
Amendment 901 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 27 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. The Commission includes information on the rules for organic farming in third countries and the barriers to exporting organic products to these third countries on the EU Market Access Database website.
Amendment 914 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 28 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) In order to create a level playing field and to guarantee fair competition for products processed both by European operators (particularly in extremely remote areas) and operators in third countries, the Commission shall ensure that production conditions for organic products processed by European operators shall be identical to production conditions applicable to organic products coming from third countries. For this reason, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36, in particular with reference to the production rules set out in Chapter III of the Regulation and its Annex II.
Amendment 915 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 2
Article 28 – paragraph 2
2. In order to ensure tThe traceability of the imported products intended to be placed on the market within the Union as organic, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 concerning documents, issued in electronic form wherever possible, that are necessary for the purposes of import and their conformity to this Regulation must be assured. Through this implementing act the Commission establishes specific rules for the content of the certificates referred to in paragraph 1 and the procedure to be followed for their establishment and control, in particular concerning the role of the competent authorities, control authorities and control bodies, and the possibility of taking regional differences into account in balancing ecological, climate and local conditions, as well as practical conditions regarding specific production matters. These implementing acts are adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37 (2).