Wine Law

220 WINE LAW • maintain ecosystems and soil fertility in the long term; • stimulate biodiversity and protection of natural resources; • promote the use of ecological processes and cycles; • minimise or eliminate external interventions and viticultural practices that involve the use of synthetic chemicals; • use, preferably, ecological products and processes in the transformation and production processes, and try to avoid all techniques that have a considerable negative impact on the environment; and • exclude the use of genetically modified organisms and inputs from genetic engineering. It concludes by deciding that these general principles are the basis for defining the guidelines for organic production at the viticultural and wine-growing levels, respecting current regulations. 3.3. New Action Plan for the future of organic production in the European Union As mentioned, the European Commission adopted, in 2004, its first European Action Plan on organic food and agriculture [(COM (2004) 415 final] in order to promote and strengthen this sector, and, ten years later, most of the 21 planned actions had already been carried out. Moreover, after adopting this Plan, the Council revised the regulations on organic farming in 2007, and the Commission adopted a new Regulation. Communication COM (2014) 179 final – on an Action Plan for the future of organic production in the European Union (24 March 2014) – shows that, in recent years, the EU organic market, driven by a regular increase in demand, has developed significantly: 19,700 million euros and a growth rate of 9% in 2011, according to the estimates of the Research Institute on Organic Agriculture (FiBL). At the same time, both the number of organic producers and the area dedicated to organic production have grown over the last decade at a rapid pace (about 500,000/year). During the period 2000-2012, the total ecological area registered an average annual increase of 6.7%, reaching, according to estimates, 9.6 million hectares, representing 5.4% of the total used agricultural area of the Union. This Plan contributed to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy 25 and the common agricultural policy. Furthermore, as environmental protection 25 COM (2010) 2020 final, EUROPE 2020 A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.