The Commission has decided to launch a reflection in a Green Paper on agricultural product quality: product standards, farming requirements and quality schemes (15/10/2008) on how to ensure the most suitable policy and regulatory framework to protect and promote quality of agricultural products, without creating additional costs or burdens As a first step it intends to launch a wide consultation on whether the existing instruments are adequate, or how they could be improved and what new initiatives could be launched.

Summary of 19 key Questions

• Q1: How could the requirements and standards met by farmers that go beyond product hygiene and safety be made better known?
• Q2: How does laying down product identities in marketing standards in EU legislation affect consumers, traders and producers? What are the benefits and drawbacks?
• Q3:To what extent is it necessary to lay down definitions of ‘optional reserved terms’ in marketing standards at EU level?
• Q4: To what extent could the drafting, implementation and control of marketing standards (or parts of them) be left to self-regulation?
• Q5: Is there a need to clarify or adjust any aspects of the rules laying down the rights of geographical indication users and other users (or potential users) of a name? What criteria should be used to determine that a name is generic?
• Q6: Should additional criteria be introduced to restrict applications for geographical indications? In particular, should the criteria for protected geographical indications, as distinct from protected designations of origin, be made stricter to emphasise the link between the product and the geographical area?
• Q7: What kind of difficulties do users of geographical indications face when trying to ensure protection in countries outside the EU?
• Q8: Have any difficulties arisen from the advertising of PGI/PDO ingredients used in processed products/prepared foods?
• Q9: What are the advantages and disadvantages of identifying the origin of raw materials in cases where they come from somewhere else than the location of the geographical indication?
• Q10: Should the three EU systems for protection of geographical indications be simplified and harmonised and, if so, to what extent? Alternatively, should they continue to develop as separate registration instruments?
• Q11: Given the low take-up of the TSG scheme, is there a better way of identifying and promoting traditional speciality products?
• Q12: What factors might inhibit the development of a single EU market in organic products? How can the single EU market in organic products be made to work better?
• Q13: To what extent has use of the graphic symbols for the EU's outermost regions increased awareness of products from the outermost regions?
• Q14: Are there any pressing issues for which existing schemes and arrangements are inadequate and for which there is a strong case for an EU level scheme?
• Q15: To what extent can certification schemes for quality products meet the main societal demands concerning product characteristics and farming methods?
• Q16: Could EU guidelines be sufficient to contribute to a more coherent development of certification schemes? What criteria would need to be included in such a guide or guidelines?
• Q17: How can the administrative costs and burdens of belonging to one or more quality certification schemes be reduced?
• Q18: How can private certification schemes be used to assist EU exports and promote European quality products in export markets?
• Q19: Respondents are invited to raise any other issues concerning agricultural product quality policy that have not been covered.

Respondents are welcome to reply to part or all of the Green Paper. Responses should be sent by Wednesday, 31 December 2008 to:

AGRI-QUALITY@ec.europa.eu
or to:
Green Paper ‘Quality’
Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development
European Commission
B-1049 Bruxelles/1049 Brussels