Voluntary certification schemes and legal standards in the EU

This chapter compares voluntary certification schemes and obligatory cross compliance rules in agriculture in the EU. Beside a comparison of attributes, the potential synergies between cross compliance and private standards are discussed along three levels of aggregation: the farmer, the supply chain and the regulator/legislator. Finally, the chapter reflects on the interaction between stricter cross compliance and the willingness to adopt private standards as a strategy of statutory over-compliance - the farmer's strategy to keep regulated outcomes far below or above the statutory defined limits. It is shown that there are similarities between cross compliance and certification schemes, but the benefits of one approach compared to the other depend on the ability to set appropriate standards. Also, membership in a certification scheme may enhance the likelihood of the farmers complying with environmental standards.