Regarding the review of the regulation, the trilogue negotiations are expected to start in the summer with the objective to reach an agreement in the autumn. The Commission affirmed to be listening to the opposite positions on the issues of controls (annual control for everyone versus risked based analysis) and residues. These are two of the most controversial points for future negotiations.
On the other hand, the import system for the organic products will evolve. Today the EU has signed agreements recognizing the equivalence of the systems with 12 third countries and 63 control bodies. Until the end of 2015, also the Member States can give authorization for the import. The new system will introduce two mechanisms: first the equivalence with third countries (reciprocity will be a necessary condition to obtain the equivalence) and second, mandatory controls of the products instead of the equivalence of control bodies (compliance with the EU regulations or with the equivalent rules for all imported products).
