News
Political Hotspot December 2023
With an eye on next year’s elections, the EU institutions have geared up work on many important dossiers. But rushing…
23/11/2023
Plant health care
European Parliament rejects Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR)
On 22 November, the plenary of the European Parliament voted to reject the proposal of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides…
Sprouting discontent: organic movement regrets European Parliament's failure to pesticides reduction
BRUSSELS, 22 NOVEMBER 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe regrets the European Parliament’s inability to agree on a pesticides reduction regulation. …
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…
We can't eat promises! Good Food Good Farming protest
On 8th November, our staff members took part to Good Food Good Farming’s protest in front of the EU Parliament.…
02/11/2023
Food policy
Commission President, ensure a framework for Sustainable Food Systems
The current EU Commission promised to transition to more sustainable, healthier, and affordable diets. This is both their commitment to…
IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes progress on pesticides reduction negotiations
BRUSSELS, 24 OCTOBER 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the vote today of the European Parliament Environment Committee on the…
Baking soda more dangerous than synthetic pesticides? - EU decision-makers on the brink of endorsing deceptive pesticide metrics
16 OCTOBER 2023, BRUSSELS, PARIS, BERLIN, VIENNA – As the Council opens negotiations today on ‘Targets and Indicators’ the European…
12/10/2023
Food policy
Advocating for transformative minimum standards in public canteens
On 10 October, representatives of local and national governments attended ‘Promoting Social Innovation through public canteens’ where a class from…
10/10/2023
Plant health care
Baking Soda more dangerous than Glyphosate & Co.?
Invitation to Online Press Conference 16 October 9:00 AM CEST Join us on https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83162329706?pwd=WkRFOTFuRVFFYitEdkRzcFNoYTArZz09Meeting ID: 831 6232 9706Passcode: 284856 BRUSSELS,…
Political hotspot
The EU’s State of the Union (SOTEU), a moment during which the Commission President reflects upon past achievements and lays…
Promoting social innovation through public canteens! Join us at the EU Week of Regions and Cities
On 10 October, we are organising a high-level workshop Promoting Social Innovation through public canteens to advocate for the implementation…
BIOFRUITNET project promoting cross-border knowledge exchange comes to an end
Over the past 3.5 years the BIOFRUITNET project has collected and synthesized existing practical and scientific knowledge on organic fruit-growing,…
Debate and discussion: Which recycled nutrients products could be suitable for organic farming?
On 18 September, 14:00-17:00, we are holding an online workshop on Recycled Nutrients for Organic Farming with the European Sustainable…
IFOAM Organics Europe partners with NATEXPO for a fairer and more transparent EU food system
IFOAM Organics Europe is glad to represent the European perspective at NATEXPO for another year. NATEXPO is the leading international…
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…
26/05/2023
Food policy
Launch of the FPC report on the Sustainable Food Systems Law: Policy recommendations for a meaningful transition
On 25 April, the Food Policy Coalition (FPC) held its first in person-meeting in Brussels to launch its report “Sustainable…
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…
BIOFRUITNET project: Making stronger networks in organic fruit growing
Knowledge sharing is key for bringing together innovative ideas and identify new solutions in organic farming. The Horizon 2020 BIOFRUITNET…
New video on organic plant health care & updates on the SUR
We are happy to announce that we just published a new video on the organic approach to plant health care…
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…
20/04/2023
Food policy
Sustainable Public Procurement: strategic lever towards a more sustainable food system - new infographics
Sustainable public procurement has countless benefits that make it a strategic lever to trigger a change in the food system.…
Sustainable school meals as catalysts for food system change
On 22-23 March, during the conference titled ‘Small Farm to Fork Procurement’ and held at the ICLEI Brussels office, IFOAM…
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…
23/03/2023
Plant health care
The Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR), moving forward but slowly
The legislative process of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) proposed by the European Commission back in June 2022…
Green claims: The fight against greenwashing must be based on methodologies promoting the transition towards more sustainable food systems
BRUSSELS, 22 MARCH 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the publication of the Substantiating Green Claims initiative by the Commission,…
Scientific study shows synthetic pesticides significantly more dangerous than natural ones
More organic farming means less pesticide use and risk BRUSSELS, VIENNA, 23 FEBRUARY 2023 – The European Green Deal’s targets of…
Online press conference: Conventional and organic pesticides compared, 23 February
“Organic farming is not what it claims to be. Organic farmers also spray poisons – and not too sparingly.” “Organic…
EU organic movement warns against greenwashing
BRUSSELS, 13 FEBRUARY 2023 – IFOAM Organics Europe warns against the misuse of claims, labels, or communication initiatives about food…
Innovative solutions in organic fruit production – BIOFRUITNET project's final conference - 2 March 2023, 9:15-13.30 (CET), online
Organic farming relies on knowledge and information flow and has a biodiversity-based approach to plant health. Sharing the available best…
Organic movement's recommendations on EU pesticides regulation (SUR)
IFOAM Organics Europe’s position paper gathering our recommendations on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation (SUR) is out. As our…
Save the bees and farmers hearing at the European Parliament
The official hearing of the European Citizens (ECI) Initiative Save the Bees and Farmers, which we are part of, take…
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.…
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…
16/12/2022
Plant health care
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!…
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…
06/12/2022
Plant health care
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…
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…
24/11/2022
Plant health care
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…