Niveau juridique : Union européenne
Texte de la question :
« The Commission’s action plan for organic farming sets far-reaching requirements for agriculture with a view to achieving the objectives of the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy. For example, organic products should be clearly labelled and made more readily available in public buildings, in order to boost demand. At the same time, the growing demand for organic products is also forcing more and more farmers to keep their animals out on pasture for longer. The wolf, a notorious predator, makes no distinction between organic and conventional farms, however. Even ecologically valuable pond farming is increasingly being forced to deal with predators which empty ponds of all their fish before the eyes of the helpless farmers.
1. How does the Commission intend to clamp down on false declarations, which, as experience has shown, increase as demand increases, and guarantee a level playing field between injected, imported organic food products and domestic organic food products, which must be produced in accordance with different and stricter standards?
2. What is the proportion of organic food served in the canteens of the Commission and the other EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, and what targets has the Commission set itself in this area in the context of the Farm to Fork Strategy?
3. What specific action is the Commission taking to address the issue of predators in regions with the largest wolf populations? »
Réponse de Mr. Wojciechowski au nom de la Commission :
« 1. The fight against fraud in organic production is a long-standing Commission priority. Action 5 of the recently (25 March 2021) adopted Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production1 focuses on “Preventing food fraud and strengthening consumer trust” and comprises a series of sub-actions. A level playing field between EU-produced and imported organic products will be ensured by the entry into application on 1 January of 2022 of Regulation 2018/848, according to which producers in third countries will have to comply with the same set of rules as those producing in the EU.
2. Since 2014, the Commission has progressively introduced an offer of organic food in its canteens. Organic food is one of the elements of greening in catering, alongside other criteria such as for example the carbon footprint impact of deliveries.The objective of the Commission is to obtain an ecological food label in the coming years, as for instance the ‘Good Food’ label proposed by the Brussels Region, which includes a percentage of organic food in the menus, as well as a seasonal, vegetal and local range of meals.
3. European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD) funding is available to support training, advice, monitoring and cooperation between rural actors to help resolve conflicts associated with biodiversity conservation. Rural Development Programmes can support preventive measures to ensure the coexistence of agriculture with large carnivores, mitigating the risk of damage. Such measures may include fencing, livestock guarding dogs, shepherding or maintenance of protective fences. In addition, LIFE2 projects may also support the design of measures addressing co-existence. »
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