EU Council Addresses Organic Production, Meat Labelling
EU - Yesterday's meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council included discussions on harmonising rules on organic farming and divergent views of country-of-origin labelling of meat.
25 March 2014
1 minute read
Promotion for agricultural products
Ministers held a new policy debate on the proposal for promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries. A majority of member states agreed on the compromise proposal put forward by the Presidency.
Minister Tsaftar concluded that "We now have a mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament. We hope soon to be able to adopt a proposal in first reading before the end of the term of office of the current Parliament."
Organic farming
Ministers were briefed by the Commission about its proposal for a review of the legal framework of organic production and farming in Europe. The proposal acknowledges that the current EU policy on organic production contains drawbacks such as complex legislation and unclear provisions or deficiencies in the control system.
Origin labelling of meat
The Council discussed a report from the Commission on the possibility of introducing a mandatory indication of the origin of meat used as an ingredient.
The report offers different scenarios but the President of the Council noted that the "positions of member states on this issue are still diverging at this stage."
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