The first EU legislation on organic farming adopted in 1991 was one important driving force for the development of the EU organic farming sector. It provided the legal definition of organic farming through production rules and defined control and labelling requirements to protect consumers and organic farmers against false and misleading organic claims. This regulation has been substantially revised, resulting in Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007. The project is to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007 and its implementing rules with respect to
Furthermore, the evaluation provides a concise description of the development of the EU organic sector and the world market in organic products, and of public support measures for the EU organic farming sector.
The evaluation concludes that the EU legislation on organic farming is generally adequate to achieve the objective of the Regulation, of organic farming and for a sustainable development of organic production. However the evaluation results draw attention to a number of areas where action is needed and the regulatory framework could be improved.
