Organic agricultural production was first regulated in Spain by Royal Decree 759/1988 of 15 July, which includes agri-food products obtained without the use of synthetic chemical products. in the system of generic and specific designations of origin laid down in Law 25/1970 of 2 December, in which the basic rules for the production, processing and conservation of organic products were laid down. Subsequently, the Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October 1993 on organic production of agricultural products and their indication on agricultural products and foodstuffs was published as a result of regulatory developments in organic production, which The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development has set up the Green Agriculture Regulatory Commission for advice on organic farming and the Order of 14 March 1995 for the development of the rules for the development of Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 December 1993. October, on organic production of agricultural products and indications on agricultural products and food, and the functions and composition of the Regulatory Commission for Ecological Agriculture are established.

Within the European Union, Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls carried out to ensure the verification of compliance with the legislation in force feed and food and animal health and animal welfare legislation, developed general aspects applicable to official controls, establishing, inter alia, that there is more than one authority in a Member State central competent to carry out official controls, coordination and coordination shall be ensured; effective and effective cooperation between all the competent authorities involved. Similarly, it provides that the competent authorities shall ensure that appropriate equipment is available to enable the staff to carry out the official controls effectively. It also provides for Member States to ensure that legal elements are available to ensure the access of the competent authorities ' staff to the documentation of food and feed business operators, in order to be able to properly fulfil its task.

Likewise, measures that are specifically applied to organic production have also been evolving and are currently falling within Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on the production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, developed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of the rules of the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on the production and labelling of organic products, with regard to organic production, their labelling and their control, and in particular with regard to official control, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 392/2013 of 29 April 2013 amending Regulation (EU) No 392/2013 (EC) No 889/2008.

Within this context, Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007, in its Title V, develops certain specific aspects of the official control regime for organic production. Among other elements, it provides that the authorities and control bodies shall keep a list of the operators subject to their control up to date, which shall be made available to the parties concerned.

For all of the above, it is necessary, by means of this royal decree, to establish a national database called the General Register of Ecological Operators (REGOE henceforth), which will incorporate the working data into the records or information systems of the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities. The REGOE is configured as a versatile registration model that allows to incorporate and identify all types of ecological operators in an unambiguous way, regardless of the type of activity or activities that they develop within organic production. and where they take place and which in turn is a dynamic core which can be easily adapted to future changes in the Community rules governing organic production, in particular its scope.

In the conception of the REGOE, as in any other type of record, it is necessary to consider the need to establish a basic unit of record, so that all the specific data can be associated with that unit avoiding duplication. In this sense, the tax identification number (NIF) has been chosen as the unique identification code of each operator. The structure and functionality of this system allows to know the activity of an operator throughout the national territory from a single code.

The REGOE will cover the need to obtain and exchange common data for all autonomous communities, with a high degree of homogeneity that allows for their correct integration by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, thus being able to more effectively fill in the national reports and statistics to be transmitted to the European Commission, in accordance with Article 36 of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, of 28 June 2007 and in Article 93 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 December 2007 September 2008, laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

Likewise, and taking into account the existence of eco-friendly operators with activity in different autonomous communities, the REGOE is an effective tool to guarantee access by the authorities. competent for the information necessary to be able to comply with its management and control obligations, providing a tool to facilitate and increase security in both domestic and international commercial transactions.

Therefore, the REGOE will make available to the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities a series of concrete and consensual data of each operator (general, location, activity, state and type of data). (a) operator), registered for each of them, which shall facilitate coordination in management and control, and shall also form the basis for drawing up the statistics of the European Union and national statistics. The lists of updated operators for the purposes of Article 92 ter of Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 contributing to the increase in the number of operators shall also be made available to the public. transparency, improvement and harmonisation of the internal market.

Moreover, the Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October, which is now repealed, created the Regulatory Commission for Ecological Agriculture (CRAE) as a collegiate body for advice on organic farming that it developed an important function for a few years according to a previous organizational model. The coordinated action of the various competent authorities is essential in this area, and it is necessary to create a new coordinating body with the autonomous communities as a means of decision-making and harmonization in the field. implementation of the obligations arising from the Community legislation on organic production, in particular as regards official control, and therefore the creation of a Bureau of Coordination of the European Community is envisaged by this royal decree. organic production.

And in the light of the experience acquired in these years, it has been considered appropriate and necessary to separate the tasks of coordination of the actions of the competent authorities, which are managed by the Bureau, Dialogue with the relevant sector. This last function will be developed from now on by the General Directorate of the Food Industry through a forum of sectoral participation in which the socio-economic entities representative of the sector will be able to take part, as (a) the implementation of the General Administration of State policy.

This royal decree repeals Royal Decree 759/1988 of 15 July, which includes the agri-food products obtained without the use of synthetic chemicals in the system of designations of origin generic and specific established in Law 25/1970 of 2 December, and Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October 1993 on organic production of agricultural products and their indication on agricultural products and foodstuffs and the rules that develop them.

In the elaboration of this royal decree, the autonomous communities and the representative entities of the affected sectors have been consulted.

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, with the prior approval of the Minister of Finance and Public Administrations, according to the State Council and prior deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 3 October 2014,

DISPONGO:

Article 1. Object.

1. This royal decree aims to establish and regulate a national database called the General Register of Ecological Operators (REGOE, hereinafter), as well as the data necessary to carry out the additions to this database and its maintenance on the same.

2. It is also the object of this royal decree to set up a Bureau for the coordination of organic production, as a collegiate body for the coordination of the competent authorities in the field of organic production.

Article 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this royal decree, the definitions laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on the production and labelling of organic products and on the labelling of organic products shall apply. repeals Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on the production and labelling of products organic products, with respect to organic production, labelling and monitoring.

Article 3. General Register of Ecological Operators (REGOE).

1. The REGOE, attached to the Directorate-General of the Food Industry, shall include the data in the records or information systems managed by the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities and shall be constituted in a database informatised.

2. To exchange information on organic production operators, the REGOE will have different tools to facilitate the transmission of the required information. For their part, the competent authorities of the autonomous communities shall have a system of exchange of data with the REGOE, including personal data and without prejudice to the provisions of this type of protection. data, based on the common format of communication approved at the Organic Production Coordination Bureau.

3. Details of the system will be established at the Eco-Production Coordination Bureau.

Article 4. Basic structure.

1. The REGOE will be structured at the following main levels:

a) Identification data of the operator and its representatives.

b) Location data for ecological activities.

c) Type of ecological activity.

d) State: ecological, in conversion, first year in practices or suspension.

e) Operator type.

2. The content of each of the paragraphs set out in the above point and the description of the concepts concerned shall be drawn up by agreement of the coordination bureau provided for in Article 6 and shall be available on the website of the MAGRAMA.

3. The REGOE shall make available to the public the lists of updated operators for the purposes of Article 92 ter of Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008.

Article 5. Incorporating data into the REGOE.

1. The competent authorities of the autonomous communities where the operator is obliged to register or have to notify the activity shall incorporate the data provided for in Article 4 into the REGOE. Each operator shall be identified in the REGOE through the NIF as a code to ensure its unique identification.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the records or information systems managed by the competent authorities of the autonomous communities shall, in any event, permit the high, low and minor changes to be made to the information system. incorporate into the REGOE as soon as possible.

The competent authorities of the autonomous communities will have access to the REGOE to manage the information they are responsible for, without prejudice to the limits that are legally appropriate for the protection of the data personal character.

Article 6. Table for the coordination of organic production.

1. The Bureau for the Coordination of Organic Production is hereby established as a collegiate body attached to the Food Industry Directorate-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment.

2. It shall act as a coordinating body with the competent authorities of the autonomous communities in the field of organic production, carrying out the advisory and coordination functions entrusted to it and, in particular, related to the application of this royal decree.

3. The Bureau shall be composed of

following members:

(a) President: The head of the General Secretariat for Differentiated Quality and Ecological Agriculture of the General Directorate of the Food Industry.

b) Vice-President: An official of the General Subdirectorate of Differentiated Quality and Ecological Agriculture, who will occupy at least one position as Head of Area.

In case of absence of the President, the Vice President will take up his duties.

c) Vocals: A representative appointed by the competent authority of each Autonomous Community.

(d) Secretary: An official of the General Subdirectorate of Differentiated Quality and Ecological Agriculture, who at least occupies the position of Chief of Service.

Other representatives appointed by the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities and the General Subdirectorate of Differentiated Quality and Ecological Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture will also be able to participate. Food and Environment, with voice but no vote.

4. The bureau may approve its own operating rules. In all cases that are not provided for by these rules, Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure, will apply. The bureau shall meet by a call from its chairman or at least three of its members and at least once a semester.

5. These are the functions of the Organic Production Coordination Bureau:

(a) Propose the necessary measures to ensure the uniform application and interpretation of Community legislation in the field of organic production, which may lead to the elaboration of consultations, previously agreed, to the European Commission.

b) Agree on coordinated criteria for the exercise of the official management and control activities of organic production.

c) To carry out the tasks of study and advice that are necessary to adapt the national legislation on organic production to the needs that arise and to contribute to establishing the Spanish position in related matters with the subject, before international organizations.

d) Establish the necessary technical measures and minimum information to ensure the effective and coordinated operation of the REGOE

e) Agreed to the constitution of specific working groups.

f) Any other related to the coordination of the management of organic production.

6. The costs of compensation for the performance of services arising from the participation of the members of the Bureau in meetings shall be on behalf of the body to which they represent.

7. In accordance with the provisions of the first provision of Law 11/2007, of 22 June of electronic access of citizens to public services, the Bureau for the Coordination of Ecological Production will be able to establish and adopt using electronic methods complying with the requirements of that provision.

Additional disposition first. Using logos.

In addition to the logo established by Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on the production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, it may continue using the logo referred to in Article 3.2 of Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October 1993 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs and laying down the functions and composition of the Commission Regulatory for Ecological Agriculture.

Additional provision second. Sectoral participation forum.

The Food Industry Directorate-General will regularly convene a sectoral participation forum with the assistance of representatives of professional organizations and agricultural cooperatives, business organizations and other organisations and institutions of recognised representativeness and competence in the field of organic production.

The meetings of this forum will address issues of general interest to this sector within the remit of the Food Industry Directorate-General, and in particular the development of the regulatory framework and the the necessary promotion measures to ensure a sustainable development of this activity.

Additional provision third. No increase in public spending.

The measures included in this royal decree will not be able to increase appropriations or salaries or other personnel costs.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

The following provisions are repealed:

-Royal Decree 759/1988 of 15 July 1988, including agri-food products obtained without the use of synthetic chemicals in the system of generic and specific designations of origin established in the Law 25/1970 of 2 December.

-Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October 1993 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs and laying down the functions and composition of the Agricultural Regulatory Commission Ecological.

-Order of 14 March 1995 for the development of rules for the development of Royal Decree 1852/1993 of 22 October 1993 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs functions and composition of the Ecological Agriculture Regulatory Commission.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This royal decree is issued in accordance with the provisions of Article 149.1.13 of the Constitution, which attributes to the State exclusive competence in the field of bases and coordination of the general planning of the activity. economic.

Final disposition second. Faculty of development.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment is empowered to adopt, in the field of his powers, the necessary provisions and measures for the development and implementation of the provisions of this royal decree.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This royal decree will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Given in Madrid, on October 3, 2014.

FELIPE R.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment,

ISABEL GARCÍA TEJERINA