News
Organic living labs develop and test food security & resilience scenarios
Helping to create and support “living labs” (LLs) is an important strategy within EU research and innovation to promote the…
The EU has continent-wide Nature Restoration Law
Today, the Nature Restoration Law entered into force. The law’s objective is the long-term recovery of nature in the EU’s…
Biodiversity management in organic greenhouses – Webinar available
In the frame of in the IPMWORKS project, we hosted a webinar on greenhouses and biodiversity – the last one…
Welcome back, Ms von der Leyen. EU organic looks forward to continue transforming our rural areas & food systems
BRUSSELS, 18 JULY 2024 – The European organic movement congratulates Ursula von der Leyen on her re-election as President of…
Fruitful discussion during LiveSeeding online webinar on organic seed and planting material databases
On 4 July 2024, the LiveSeeding project organised a learning exchange on organic seed databases, using examples from Spain and…
Positive steps for EU’s resilience in Council decisions on nature restoration, soil monitoring law & green claims
On 17 June, European legislation on soil, nature, and environmental labelling took a few steps forward as the Council of…
Political Hotspot June 2024
Ongoing farmers’ protests highlight the need to address concerns about unfair pricing and competition in European agriculture. The objectives laid…
New genomic techniques, what comes up?
Despite significant political pressure to reach an agreement among the EU institutions before the European elections in June 2024, the…
02/05/2024
Seeds
Plant Reproductive Material Regulation legislation could advance organic plant breeding
On 24 April, the European Parliament voted on the Plant Reproductive Material Regulation (PRM) legislation. Members of the European Parliament…
Organic movement meets Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
On 26 April, IFOAM Organics Europe met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a discussion on the…
24/04/2024
Seeds
EU Parliament advances organic plant breeding with new PRM legislation vote
BRUSSELS, 24 APRIL 2024 – Today’s vote on the Plant Reproductive Material Regulation (PRM) legislation could contribute to a balanced regulation…
Nature restoration in jeopardy – Member States’ Environment Ministers endanger another EU law
After reaching a trilogue agreement on the Nature Restoration Law last November, adoption of a piece of European Union legislation…
Organics Europe's stance on Member State's efforts to delay anti-deforestation law (EUDR)
Some EU Member States, spearheaded by Austria and endorsed by Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden, are trying to weaken…
Proposal integrated Plant Reproductive Material Regulation improves after Parliament’s inputs
The EU is revising legislation on plant reproductive material, such as seeds, cuttings, trees, roots, tubers, and clones. Currently, rules…
19/03/2024
Seeds
IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes AGRI Committee vote on Plant Reproductive Material
BRUSSELS, 19 MARCH 2024 – The European organic movement considers today’s vote on the Plant Reproductive Material Regulation (PRM) legislation an…
OrganicAdviceNetwork project, the first Europe-wide network for organic advisors, starting soon!
As the EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy aims to achieve 25% of organic farmland in the EU by 2030, new organic farmers…
Entrepreneurship in the organic seeds and breeding sector
Are you an organic farmers or SME managers who is involved in: Join the webinar “Entrepreneurship in the organic seeds…
New digital tool for breeders, seed producers & traders
LiveSeeding is an EU-funded project promoting growth of organic seed and plant breeding to transition to more sustainable food systems.…
05/12/2023
Seeds
Parliamentary committees have started work on proposed Plant Reproductive Material regulation
The AGRI and ENVI parliamentary committees have started their work on the proposed Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) regulation, a file…
Protecting our soils across the EU
In July, the European Commission published its proposal on a Soil Monitoring and Resilience law. As IFOAM Organics Europe, we…
Agreement on nature restoration law: Important signal to transform farming
Negotiators from the European Parliament and Council reached a final agreement on the Nature Restoration Law (NRL). As European organic…
Six-fold increase in organic seeds needed in the next ten years in Europe – 2nd European Organic Seed Policy Conference shows pathways to make organic seeds a reality
The Spanish Presidency of the European Union put a spotlight on rural areas and agricultural resilience during a High-level Rural…
Registrations open for the Organic Seed Policy Conference to be held in Poland
In the context of the LiveSeeding project, where IFOAM Organics Europe is a partner, a public Organic Seed Policy Conference…
12/07/2023
Biodiversity
Nature restoration law adopting gives hope for food & farming systems
BRUSSELS, 12 JULY 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the adoption of the Nature Restoration Law by MEPs today. Jan…
12/06/2023
Biodiversity
Farmers want nature restoration
On 15 June the European Parliament’s Environment Committee will vote on their report on the Nature Restoration Law. Organic farmers…
Political Hotspot May 2023
The proposal for an EU nature restoration law is facing major opposition, recently leading to the rejection of the whole…
22/05/2023
Biodiversity
Nature restoration, crucial for resilient food & farming systems
BRUSSELS, 22 MAY 2023 – Biodiversity protection and well-functioning ecosystems are essential for food production. But the Commission’s proposal on…
ECO-READY: Developing a European Observatory for short and long-term food and agriculture resilience strategies
The ECO-READY project aspires to identify climate-change drivers affecting food security and biodiversity across Europe. The comprehensive understanding of the EU…
The multiple benefits of organic for climate and biodiversity – visualised in our new infographic
The systemic approach of organic farming contributes to climate mitigation, supports the adaptation of farmers to the consequences of climate…
Political Hotspot March 2023
After a postponement in November 2022, on 22 March 2023 the European Commision’s proposal for a Directive on substantiation and…
22/12/2022
Biodiversity
What the Global Biodiversity Framework means for agriculture
Two years later than initially planned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, world leaders adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).…
Member States call for ‘new impact assessment’ on the Pesticides Regulation (SUR), delaying strict EU pesticide regulation
On 19 December, Member States1 voted in favour of requesting complementary data to the existing impact assessment the Commission carried…
Agreement on new deforestation law
EU consumption is responsible for around 10% of global deforestation. In the beginning of December, the Council and European Parliament…
1 million EU citizens knock on EU’s door: No synthetic pesticides to save bees & farmers
Over 1 million EU citizens are asking to restore nature, provide healthy food, healthy soil and clean water. On Friday 25…
14/09/2022
Biodiversity
European Parliament adopts position on deforestation-free products
The European Parliament has voted on its position on the Commission proposal for a regulation on deforestation-free products. On 13…
Early feedback 2023 promotion policies reveal potential decrease in funding for organic products
The Commission’s decision to ringfence budget for organic products within the promotion policies was welcomed by the organic sector as…
New position paper on nutrition labelling
IFOAM Organics Europe published its new position paper on “Nutrition labelling & Nutri-Score”. This publication comes at a time of…
29/07/2022
Seeds
European Parliamentarians, NGOs and organic sector discuss seed marketing rules
Before the European Parliament’s summer break, the political process reviewing seed marketing rules kickstarted with an event on 22 June.…
28/07/2022
EU Green Deal
Situation in the Ukrainian organic sector as of July 2022
This is a press release of Organic Initiative on the situation in the Ukrainian organic sector after 5 months of…
Nature restoration law is published
On 22 June the European Commission published the proposal of a Nature Restoration Law together with the Sustainable Use of…
Welcome note May 2022 Newsletter
Dear readers, I would like to thank you for the enthusiasm and the support you have given IFOAM Organics Europe…
Sustainable nutrient management: our contribution to the European Commission’s public consultation
In Europe, surplus nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the environment are already exceeding safe planetary boundaries – for N…
24/03/2022
Seeds
New rules vegetative plant reproductive material for organic production
While the new EU Organic Regulation officially entered into force on 1 January of this year, not all details were…
Soil Health Law: Organic movement’s contribution to public consultation
60-70% of soils in the EU are not healthy and the EU still lacks a comprehensive soil protection policy. In…
Trialogues on Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs to start
On 10 December, the Council of the EU approved its mandate for negotiations on the Regulation on Statistics on Agricultural…
Revised Directive for a Sustainable Use of pesticides expected on 23 March
The indicative calendar of the European Commission for the first half of 2022 mentions the launch of a “Nature restauration…
Read our new leaflet on plant health care in organic farming
Have you ever heard of all the preventive plant protection measures implemented by organic farmers to produce food without using…
Mainstreaming organic plant breeding – celebrating 20 years of organic plant breeders
‘How to make organic plant breeding mainstream’ – was the guiding question of the 20th anniversary event of the organic…
Over 1 million signatures demanding a restoration of biodiversity & support for farmers
Across Europe, more than 1 million citizens are calling for a reduction of 80% in the use of synthetic pesticides…
The future of organic food: Ten take-aways of the Organic Food Conference 2021
Our Organic Food Conference 2021 was a success, and we are happy to share the ten key take-aways. The European…