On June 16th, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council reached an agreement on a general approach on the Commission proposal for new organic regulation.
The organic sector has welcomed the agreement that should provide important improvements on the initial proposal in almost all critical areas. For instance, specific control requirements remain under the organic regulation, the number of delegated acts has been reduced, the scope of the regulation has been clarified and extended, EU wide bureaucratic rules for retailers have been avoided and member states maintain limited flexibility on production rules.
A general approach is a political agreement on the position of the Council on a proposal for a regulation. The agreement will make it possible to launch negotiations between the Parliament and the Council with a view to reaching a political agreement between the EU institutions. In the Parliament, the vote on the report presented by Mr Hausling is expected to take place in mid-July or mid-September 2015 in the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
