Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-10-Speech-4-054"
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"en.20050310.4.4-054"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about organic farming there is a real paradox. Everyone – including you, Commissioner, and the European Commission as a whole – recognises the undeniable benefits of organic farming, in terms of the environment, biodiversity and health, but also in terms of employment and rural development. However, despite a growing demand on the part of consumers for products originating from organic farming, the organically farmed areas and organic production are not increasing, and still represent a very marginal share of overall production of agricultural products.
We are therefore counting on action on the part of the Members of the European Parliament, and we hope that the Commission will listen to this desire to declare support for organic farming in much stronger terms.
It was with great astonishment that we learned of the Commission’s action plan in favour of organic farming, which we had been hoping would be particularly ambitious and accompanied by the appropriate resources. This is not how it has turned out, however, even though we note, with evident satisfaction, some welcome proposals, such as the public awareness and information campaigns, or the emphasis placed on public canteens and school meals in particular. Moreover, when it comes to organic products we could make a start with the catering facilities at the European Parliament itself.
You do not identify any specific resources, i.e. additional resources, and nor are there any proactive – let alone mandatory – measures with regard to Member States, even though the need to harmonise the different policies of Member States on organic farming would appear to be obvious to everybody if we really want to contribute to the development of organic farming and reduce the disparities that exist.
Nor do we find any progress on the nonetheless crucial question of genetically modified organisms, the coexistence of conventional crops alongside organic crops, or the issue of liability in cases of contamination. We are waiting for your proposals on these matters, without which Member States will finally be left entirely to their own devices on issues which are, after all, essential to organic farming.
This is why the Members of the European Parliament wanted to see a much firmer commitment to organic farming, much firmer than information campaigns which, useful though they may be, seem to us to be an inadequate response to the issues at stake. Consequently, we believe that major investments need to be made, in particular to make the specifications for different products in different Member States more consistent and more precise, and to make better use of rural development funds by defining much more clearly the share which is assigned to organic farming.
We hope that the FEADER programme, which is devoted to rural development, will make it possible to reply to these questions. These rural development funds also need to be strengthened. There are substantial threats hanging over these funds, and we cannot accept the plans to reduce the European Union’s overall budget, which would be likely to damage them badly.
We would also like to make organic farming the subject of priority research within the framework of the European research programmes. We want increased aid to be granted to the economic structuring of the organic sector, from production and processing to distribution and marketing. Unless this sector is strengthened, we shall not achieve any real progress. It is also necessary to settle the issue of genetically modified organisms, and to improve significantly the inspection and fraud control systems in this area.
All this must be done in collaboration with the people involved in the sector, the producer associations, consumers, cooperatives and all those who have been committed, for many years, to organic farming, unfortunately without much support. The European Parliament must also be fully associated with these policies, and I would draw your attention to the fact that any amendment to the regulation on organic farming should also be the subject of consultations with the Members of the European Parliament.
Finally, we really must move away from the idea of a ‘niche’ as far as organic farming is concerned. It is not a small, separate sector destined for a sympathetic clientele which is well motivated with regard to environmental issues, and with a high disposable income which will enable it to have access to this type of food. On the contrary, we believe that organic farming can be the spearhead of a truly sustainable agricultural industry. As part of any future reforms of the common agricultural policy, which are, as we all know, inevitable, we believe that organic farming can serve as a model. Obviously, it is not a model that is 100% reproducible everywhere, but we believe that this type of farming, the merits and benefits of which are recognised by everyone, should be strongly supported and encouraged so that it can achieve much higher percentages of overall agricultural production."@en1
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