The Irish Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament have announced a provisional agreement on updated rules for the production, labelling, certification and trade of organic products.
OPTA Europe welcomes the extension of existing equivalence agreements, which were due to expire at the end of 2026, thereby avoiding disruption to international trade. The improvements introduced by the co-legislators to simplify the rules for groups of operators are also welcome, as they will help ensure that smallholders retain access to the EU market.
OPTA Europe now urges the EU institutions to put the necessary conditions in place to ensure that the agreement can be effectively enforced, particularly with regard to imported products. “By changing the conditions under which equivalence agreements operate, the EU has raised important questions about their practical implementation. We urge the EU institutions to work with the authorities in equivalent countries to establish effective arrangements for on-the-spot controls and for the certification of additional requirements that were introduced without the agreement of the countries concerned » said Aurora Abad, Secretary General of OPTA Europe.
“We will also monitor the reaction of our trading partners, hoping that the agreement will not trigger retaliatory measures against EU products”
For OPTA Europe, another key unresolved issue is traceability. Operators throughout the supply chain, all the way to the manufacturer of the final product, will need to distinguish between imported ingredients that meet the additional EU requirements and those that do not. This issue has so far been overlooked. OPTA Europe therefore urges the EU institutions to put the necessary measures in place, without which the new obligations cannot be effectively enforced.
Consider becoming a member of OPTA, the Organic Processing and Trade Association.
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