Moreover, the presidency will launch the debate on
organic production and the labelling of organic
products. Organic farming policy, together with vol-
untary quality labels (PDO, PGI, island products,
mountain products etc.) are basic tools of the
European, as well as national, quality policy, in
order to turn agriculture into a pillar driver of eco-
nomic growth and improvement of the quality of life
of Greek farmers.
In the livestock farming, and more specifically the
dairy, sector, in anticipation of the expiration of the
current regime (abolition of quotas by 2015) the
presidency will try to provide, by means of conclu-
sions, the European Commission with political
guidelines for taking further action on shaping the
regime that will apply to the dairy sector after 2015.
The Council’s discussions will be based on a
Commission report regarding the dairy sector,
which will be based on a consultation with stake-
holders.
The Greek presidency will continue to work towards
bringing certain regulations in line with the Lisbon
treaty (including the regulation on flavoured wines,
the imports of olive oil from Turkey, and certain EU
tariff quotas on rice imports from Bangladesh).
In the phytosanitary sector, the Greek presidency
will continue to scrutinize the legislative package
regarding plant and animal health, with the aim of
ensuring increased safety in the agrifood chain and
a streamlined legal framework, for a more compet-
itive EU. This comprises five regulations, including
those on reproductive material and official controls,
as well as the regulation on expenditure, which will
be adopted during the Greek presidency. Special
priority is also given to plant reproductive material,
including the revision of community rights on plant
varieties.
Initiatives in Agriculture and
Fisheries
In order, on one hand, to promote innovation in agri-
culture and, one the other hand, to help utilize
Europe’s agricultural diversity, the Greek presiden-
cy has planned the following initiatives:
1. Turning European agricultural diversity into an
asset. This will be the main topic of discussion at
the Informal Meeting of Ministers that will be held
in Athens on May 4-6. The presidency intends to
demonstrate that European biodiversity can
become a major comparative advantage against
EU’s competitors, such as the US and China. The
ultimate aim of the presidency is to offer incen-
tives for adopting an EU-wide policy on the issue.
2. Presentation of the action plan on the European
Innovation Partnership “Agricultural Productivity
and Sustainability” at the first Council of
Trade with Greece
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issues of great importance for both the EU and
Greece, which concern:
●Improvements in the operation of the Common
Market Organization (CMO) and the producers’
organizations in the fruit & vegetables sector. The
proposed measures will introduce improvements
to the operation of the CMO, the producer organ-
izations, and the operational funds and pro-
grammes, and will help improve the farmers’
competitive position in the supply chain, within a
globalized market. The new proposed measures
are expected to be more favourable for member
states with low levels of producer concentration.
●The programme for the distribution of milk, fruit
and other farm products to pupils, aims, among
other things, at supporting demand and the sus-
tainable consumption of fresh and slightly
processed agricultural products, also bringing
children in contact with farms and teaching them
to consume healthy foods.
●The promotion of agricultural products in the inter-
nal and third country markets, through measures
that are designed to create higher added value
and are better suited to the diverse and special-
ized needs of each market.
