Council Decision (EU) 2021/1345 authorising the opening of negotiations with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Tunisia and the United States with a view to concluding agreements on trade in organic products

Summary:

Decision (EU) 2021/1345 - adopted by the Council of the European Union on 28 June 2021 - authorising the opening of negotiations with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Tunisia and the United States with a view to concluding agreements on trade in organic products.

Further information:

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 establishes the possibility to grant access to the EU market for organic products coming from third countries that have been recognised under a trade agreement as having a system of production meeting the same objectives and principles by applying rules which ensure the same level of assurance of conformity as those of the European Union.

In accordance with that Regulation, the recognition for the purposes of equivalence of third countries on the basis of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 is to expire in December 2026. It thus became necessary to open talks with a view to concluding agreements on trade in organic products with certain third countries.

This Decision authorises the European Commission to launch negotiations with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Tunisia and the United States with a view to concluding agreements on trade in organic products. The negotiations should be conducted on the basis of the negotiating directives of the Council set out in the addendum to this Decision. The Decision was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 28 June 2021, and published in the Official Journal on 31 August 2021.