News

 

IFOAM Organics Europe and European Citizens' Initiative condemn "fake pesticide reduction"

Methodologies are a political choice: Harmonised Risk-Indicator (HRI-1) misleads EU citizens and harms organic agriculture BRUSSELS/VIENNA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2024 –…

Task force on biocontrol starts its work

IFOAM Organics Europe’s new Task Force on Biocontrol will take up its work in September. The group will discuss this…

EU Organic Regulation updates: FAQ on organic rules & second list of compliant control bodies

The Commission has updated its Frequently asked questions on organic rules with new topics. It now also clarifies questions on:…

CDG meeting on organic farming: Agroforestry, plant protection & compliance

Organic stakeholders exchanged with the Commission on synergies between agroforestry and organic, plant protection products and the regulatory switch from…
04/07/2024
Events Seeds

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…

Open webinar on biodiversity management in organic greenhouses

We are organising a series of free and open webinars relevant to organic farming as part of our involvement in…
04/06/2024
GMOs Seeds

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…

Policies should promote uptake of biocontrol

The European organic movement and international biocontrol manufacturers call on the European Commission to ensure faster registration and uptake of…
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…

IBMA and IFOAM Organics Europe call for policies to promote the uptake of biocontrol

IFOAM Organics Europe and the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA) call for policies to promote the uptake of safe, environmentally…
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…

Research call ‘Fostering agroecology at farm & landscape levels’ open

The new European Research & Innovation Partnership AGROECOLOGY has launched its first call “Fostering agroecology at farm and landscape levels”.…

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…

New faces and new projects in the Research & Innovation Unit 

A new year means new research and innovation (R&I) projects! Several new Horizon Europe projects in which IFOAM Organics Europe…

Von der Leyen yields to farmer’s groups demands to shelve the Sustainable Use of Pesticide Regulation proposal

This week the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen announced in a concession to farmers, after weeks of protests…

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…

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.…

Fostering EU-international cooperation in research & innovation to transform agri-food systems

Right before the EU’s annual Agricultural Outlook conference, TP Organics held its event EU-international cooperation in research & innovation to…
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…

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. …

Organic research & innovation to deliver sustainable food & farming systems – TP Organics position paper

TP Organics’ new position paper puts forward priorities for the third and final Work Programme of Horizon Europe (2025-2027) –…

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…

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,…

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…

Organic and agroecological farming are best guarantee for long-term food security, says new TP Organics policy brief

TP Organics, the European Technology Platform for Research & Innovation into Organics and Agroecology hosted by IFOAM Organics Europe, has…

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,…

"Organic and agroecological farming are the best guarantee for long-term food security", says new TP Organics Policy Brief

BRUSSELS, 5 SEPTEMBER 2023 – At today’s high-level expert webinar “Safeguarding long-term food security”, TP Organics, the European Technology Platform…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

GMOs – An easy breakdown on common myths 

Global grassroots organization Slow Food International has recently published a short myth-busting article with the most common, but wrong and…

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…

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…
 
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