Girling issues warning over proposed organic food rules
ECR MEP Julie Girling has strongly criticised a proposed revision to the rules on organic farming in the EU. The Commission’s proposal introduces a series of complex requirements which will do little to ease the burden on EU farmers.
Unfortunately in a vote this week, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee failed to improve the draft proposal. Instead, at the insistence of the Parliament’s lead negotiator, a German Green MEP, it has been rushed through with hundreds of amendments, potentially leading to an even more complex situation for farmers.
Mrs Girling said: “Regrettably, we have ended up with an incoherent proposal which further increases the rules and requirements for Europe’s farmers. I am however pleased that we managed to overturn the Commission’s proposal to ban mixed farms. This would have had a devastating impact on countries such as the UK, where 25% of organic farms are mixed. Nevertheless, I remain concerned that the proposals we have in front of us now will make it even more difficult for conventional farmers to shift to organic practices. This flies in the face of the Commission’s stated objective of expanding Europe’s organics sector.”
