News
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…
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…
National CAP Strategic Plans: On the road to achieving the 25% organic target
The Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU supports the achievement of the targets set by the EU’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity…
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…
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…
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…
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…
All CAP Strategic Plans approved, just like Parliament’s report on long-term vision for rural areas
On 13 December, the European Commission approved the last national Common Agricultural Policy’s (CAP) Strategic Plan and the European Parliament…
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…
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…
09/11/2022
Plant health care
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…
03/11/2022
Plant health care
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…
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…
26/09/2022
CAP
CAP updates: Nine Strategic Plans approved, new derogations, feedback performance framework and future CAP network
Approval of CAP 2023-2027 Strategic Plans: Where are we now? Nine CAP national Strategic Plans out of 27 have been…
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…
18/08/2022
CAP
CAP updates: Status Strategic Plans, new derogations, feedback performance framework and future CAP network
Approval of CAP 2023-2027 Strategic Plans: Where are we now? During the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council configuration (AGRIFISH) meeting…
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…
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…
Welcome note June 2022 Newsletter
Dear readers, Summer has arrived all over Europe and harvesting season is upon us. Summer mood is not slowing down…
Political hotspot June 2022 Newsletter
On 22 June, the European Commission published two important legislative proposals related to the implementation of the Farm to Fork…
28/06/2022
Plant health care
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…
20/06/2022
Plant health care
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…
13/06/2022
CAP
Update on CAP 2023-2027 Strategic Plans, Common Market Organisation & long-term vision for rural areas
Where are we at with the CAP 2023-2027 Strategic Plans and reform process? What do we do on the Common…
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…
09/06/2022
Plant health care
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…
07/06/2022
CAP
Member States should enhance support for organic farming in CAP Strategic Plans in line with Commission's observations
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 7 JUNE 2022 – Over the past days, the organic food and farming movement sent letters to national…
06/06/2022
Plant health care
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…
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…
19/05/2022
CAP
Political hotspot May 2022 Newsletter
As of 17 May 2022, the European Commission sent 24 observation letters to Member States on their CAP Strategic Plans,…