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23/12/2022
Food policy

Large share of EU funds available to promote sustainable agriculture in 2023 

On 16 December 2022, the European Commission has adopted the 2023 Annual Work Programme on the promotion of agricultural products.…

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…

EU pesticides regulation (SUR) under attacks from Member States & industry

The EU Pesticide Reduction proposal SUR has been under attack by lobbyists. They developed a strategy to delay and possibly…

Promoting recycled fertilizers in Europe: IFOAM Organics Europe position paper & outcomes policy workshop on closing the nutrients’ cycle

On 28 February, IFOAM Organics Europe has published a new position paper on the Commission’s Integrated Nutrients Management Action Plan…

November newsletter: SUR, GMO-free event, and more!

Two weeks ago, we published our November newsletter and it’s rich in updates and information on the hottest organic topics!…

Bold pesticide reduction plan faces attack on Saturday

BRUSSELS, 6 DECEMBER 2022 – EU plans to cut pesticide use and risk by half and protect the most sensitive…
30/11/2022
Climate change

Commission proposal on the certification of carbon removals leaves crucial questions unanswered

BRUSSELS, 30 NOVEMBER 2022 – The Commission’s proposal on the certification of carbon removals touches on important aspects like the…

Green claims: better methodologies to assess environmental performance of food & textiles products

BRUSSELS, 29 NOVEMBER 2022 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes news about the Commission’s decision to postpone the publication of the…

Press conference: EU pesticide reduction under fierce attack

In June 2022, the EU Commission presented a legislative proposal on the “sustainable use of plant protection products” (SUR), which…

Political Hotspot - November 2022

The legislative process of revising the EU’s pesticide legislation, the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), is full of hurdles,…

Welcome note November 2022

Dear reader,  I am happy to welcome you to this year’s last edition of our newsletter. I am proud to…

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…

‘Way forward in organic plant health care strategies’ Conference, 17-18 November 2022, online

On 17 & 18 November, IFOAM Organics Europe, BÖLW and JKI Institüte organised an online conference on the ‘Way forward…
22/11/2022
Climate change

This was COP 27 for agriculture 

From 6-18 November the COP27 took place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Like every year, our colleagues from IFOAM – Organics…
10/11/2022
Textiles

NGOs demand adequate methodologies in upcoming legal proposal on green claims– also for apparel & footwear 

The European Commission’s is working on an upcoming legislative proposal to help justify (‘substantiate’) green claims and prevent greenwashing. However,…

Commission's fertiliser communication, short term fixes, no long-term solutions

In its Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers, the EU Commission postpones necessary changes to achieve more sustainable food systems by…

Organic movement asks for higher environmental ambition in the upcoming Fertiliser Communication & digitalization of pesticide use data in SAIO’s implementing act 

Upcoming Fertilizers Communication of the Commission  On 24 October, we co-signed a joint letter with 9 NGOs calling on the…

Sustainability labels, ”sustainable or not? That’s the question!” 

In the current food environment, labels are crucial to provide consumers with information to help them make the sustainable choice.…
29/09/2022
Food policy

Political Hotspot - September 2022

September is the month of the first informal meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture in Prague, Czech Republic. The Czech…

Updates on pesticides and recycled nutrients: Regulation (SUR), statistics and data

IFOAM Organics Europe welcomed the Commission’s proposal on the revision of the Sustainable Use of pesticides Regulation (SUR). It could…
25/08/2022
Textiles

New position paper on organic textiles in a context of strong political momentum 

IFOAM Organics Europe published its revised position paper Organic textiles – Protecting the credibility of the organic label. The publication…

June newsletter: measuring pesticides, new GMOs, and more!

We just published our June newsletter and it’s rich in updates and information on the hottest organic topics! Not sure…

Got pesticides in your body? It’s your last chance to find out

Pesticides threaten our food and farming systems.They kill pollinators like bees, reduce the quality of soils, endanger the health of…
24/06/2022
Textiles

The importance of an organic label for textiles

What is the issue with textiles?The organic textile market is rapidly growing and the textile industry may be victim of…
23/06/2022
Food policy

Delving into public consultations: The sustainable food system framework initiative and the EU school scheme

July will be a hot month! In part because of deadlines to public consultations geared at transforming the European food…

They make it happen! Green public procurement in Copenhagen’s public kitchens

Organic contributes to promoting and delivering healthy and sustainable diets. This is part of our Vision 2030 set out and…

Contribute to the Commission’s consultation on the future EU integrated nutrient management action plan (INMAP)

The Commission is preparing an Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan (INMAP) as announced in the EU Biodiversity and Farm to…
10/06/2022
Climate change

European Parliament votes on climate 'Fit for 55’ package

The European Parliament has adopted their position on the revision of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)…

Environmental NGOs and organic movement call on Commission to develop a new indicator to measure progress towards the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction target

BRUSSELS, 9 JUNE 2022 – The organisers of the European Citizens’ Initiative Save Bees and Farmers (signed by 1.2 million…

Do you have pesticides in your body? Join the pesticide check-up and find out

Pesticides are a serious threat to our food and farming systems. On the field, they kill pollinators like bees and…

Agreement on agricultural statistics (SAIO)

On Thursday 2 June, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the new EU…

Alternatives to contentious input in organic - Heritage of RELACS project

The RELACS project developed and researched alternatives to contentious inputs in organic crop production – copper and mineral oils, nutrient…
17/05/2022
Climate change

Parliament’s environment committee votes on climate regulation

This week, the European Parliament’s Environment (ENVI) Committee has voted on several pieces of legislation for the Fit for 55…
16/05/2022
Textiles

EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles: Shortcomings and promises

On 30 March, the European Commission published its strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. This strategy is part of the…
16/05/2022
Food policy

Public consultation on the Sustainable Food System law: stakeholders invited to provide feedback!

On 28 April, the European Commission opened its public consultation for the sustainable food system framework initiative. All stakeholders, including…

IFOAM Organics Europe’s roundtable on organic canteens gathers torchbearers for fruitful exchanges

On 28 March, IFOAM Organics Europe organised a roundtable on organic canteens, bringing together relevant actors in the field to…
10/05/2022
Food policy

Opening of a public consultation on EU school fruit, vegetables, and milk scheme

On 5 May, the European Commission opened its public consultation for the revision of the EU school scheme, that supports…
06/05/2022
Food policy

European Commission’s promotion policies: 157 projects submitted in 2022

The European Commission has recently published the results of its call for tenders under the 2022 edition of the promotion…
05/05/2022
Climate change

New IFOAM Organics Europe position paper on carbon farming is published

In our new position paper, we highlight the need for a holistic and multi-dimensional approach to carbon farming – focussing…
04/05/2022
Food policy

European Parliament report on the organic action plan published

On 3 May, the European Parliament’s Plenary voted on its own initiative report on the Commission’s organic action plan (OAP).…

Wrapping up the RELACS project: Policy roadmaps, videos & other publications

The RELACS project, which aims at finding alternatives to contentious inputs in organic farming, came to an end on 29…

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…

EU Parliament AGRI Committee supports organic farming in vote on Organic Action Plan report

BRUSSELS, 31 MARCH 2022 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes ComAGRI’s vote on the Parliament’s Organic Action Plan (OAP) report. AGRI…

Policy instruments & voluntary initiatives for reducing contentious inputs in organic farming

The RELACS project released a new scientific paper by Varga et al., 2022, analysing existing policy instruments and voluntary initiatives in…

Commission delays proposal for Regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides

On 23 March, the European Commission was supposed to publish a proposal for a Regulation on the Sustainable Use of…
22/03/2022
Climate change

Public consultation on the certification of carbon removals open until 02 May

The European Commission has opened a public consultation and call for evidence for the planned proposal on the certification of…

Expert on recycled fertilisers? Join our Task Force on Recycled Fertilisers

IFOAM Organics Europe’s Board created a Task Force on Recycled Fertilisers. This decision comes in the context of the “Integrated…

ClieNFarms project has started

Making farms climate-neutral is the aim of the ClieNFarms projects that started last January. The project will set up 20…

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…
 
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