Wine Law

REGULATION OF ORGANIC WINE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 215 2.1. EU action The first European Regulation on organic farming came in 1991, following the great boom that organic farming had taken and the numerous reports on the negative impact on the rural environment that “intensivist” agriculture was producing. This led to the European Union’s approval of Council Regulation (EEC) 2092/91 of 24 June 12 , by which organic agricultural production is regulated, based on the standards prepared in advance by IFOAM. This regulation, in addition to recognising organic farming as a viable system – compatible with the preservation of the environment and sustainable farming and establishing the regulations to be adopted in the production process –, established a horizontal aid scheme (agri-environmental aids) in which organic farming was included. Moreover, in 2004, the European Action Plan on organic food and agriculture is addressed in Communication COM (2004) 415 final, from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament 13 . This Communication aimed to assess the situation in this sector and lay the foundations for its evolution in the coming years, offering a general strategic overview of organic farming’s contribution to the common agricultural policy (CAP). The Commission’s analyses highlighted that the organic market development, which averaged 2% of the European Union with 15 States 14 , needed to be further promoted. To increase this figure (or maintain it in the long term), it was necessary to pay more attention to consumer expectations and safeguard the integrity of the inspection system. Indeed, one of the objectives of the 2003 CAP reform was to promote production aimed at obtaining quality products that respect the environment, and organic farming could be an important instrument for achieving this objective. 12 DO L 198 of 22 July 1991. 13 DOUE of 10 June 2004. 14 The measures can be consulted in the Commission's working document entitled European Action Plan for Organic Food and Farming (2004).