News
Welcome Note March 2023
Dear Readers, Welcome to the March edition of our newsletter! We are excited to share with you the latest news…
28/03/2023
About us
Exciting news: We have moved to a new office, the Organic House!
We are thrilled to share with you that IFOAM Organics Europe’s office has moved to a new location early March.…
EU Organic Awards 2023: Apply before 14 May!
We are excited to announce that the EU Organic Awards are back for the second time after a successful debut…
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…
22/03/2023
GMOs
EU environmental ministers give clear signal to Commission to maintain precautionary principle & risk assessment for NGTs
On 16 March, the Council meeting of environmental ministers sent a decisive message to the European Commission as a large…
09/03/2023
About us
Saying goodbye to our colleagues
08/03/2023
GMOs
We want to be able to choose! Ensure GMO-free food production.
Update 23.03.2023: Junges Bioland initiated an online petition on this topic, addressed to Olaf Scholz, Germany’s Prime Minister, and to…
IFOAM Organics Europe & Diversified Communications partner to support organic market growth
BRUSSELS, 07 MARCH 2023 – We are excited to announce that IFOAM Organics Europe, the European umbrella organisation for organic…
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…
February 2023 Newsletter - Multilingual Edition
Read this Special Newsletter edition in CZ, DE, ES, FR, HU, IT, LT, NL, PL, PT, RO Welcome note Dear reader, Welcome to a very special edition of our newsletter. At…
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…
13/02/2023
GMOs
European Court of Justice decision on ‘in vitro’ mutagenesis strengthens 2018 ruling subjecting gene editing to EU GMO Directive
The recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, published on 7 February, closes a 2015 case brought forward by…
Successful GMO petition handover to the Commission
On February 7, environmental, agricultural, and consumer rights organizations gathered in front of the European Parliament in Brussels to officially…
06/02/2023
GMOs
New year, old narratives – Why genetic engineering is (still) not the solution to food security
The European Commission kicked off 2023 by publishing a report on the drivers of food security, recognising the value of…
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…
17/12/2020
About us
25% target of organic land by 2030: Challenges and priorities for Central and Eastern Europe 15 December 2020
On 15 December 2020, IFOAM Organics Europe organised its Expert Group for Capacity Building in Central and Eastern Europe’s annual…
Welcome note November 2020 newsletter
Dear readers, I would like to use this opportunity to look back on a turbulent year, marked with great successes…
New organic regulations published
Application of the new EU Organic Regulation Originally, the new EU Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848 was set to apply from 1…
13/11/2020
Plant health care
RELACS project on track despite Covid-19: First digital annual meeting - 10-12 November, online
The RELACS project’s third annual meeting took place digitally 10-12 November. It demonstrated that research in all work packages is…
10/11/2020
About us
Welcoming our new colleague
We are happy to welcome our new colleague, Mathilde Calmels. On 9 November, she joined the Policy Unit as Policy…
22/10/2020
About us
Representing the organic movement’s interests in the Commission’s Civil Dialogue Groups
The Civil Dialogue Groups (CDGs) are a tool to assist the European Commission and advise on policy. IFOAM Organics Europe…
15/10/2020
COVID19
European Parliament pushes for fast recovery aid
On 13 October, the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament voted for a fast, targeted and sustainable recovery package for…
Replacement of copper in organic farming – First results of RELACS experiments conducted by ÖMKi
Copper is currently used as a plant protection product (PPP) and/or leaf fertilizer in organic and conventional farming in several…
22/09/2020
About us
Civil Dialogue Groups – New members + new space on the extranet!
As voice of the European organic sector, IFOAM Organics Europe is in contact with EU institutions through different channels. One…
17/09/2020
GMOs
Reveal of a detection method for a gene-edited rapeseed - What is the significance and why is there a controversy?
A regulation is only worth so much as it can be enforced. This is why on 7 September, an open…
14/09/2020
About us
Welcoming our new colleague
IFOAM Organics Europe is excited to welcome its new colleague, Julie Goeseels. In September, she joined the Finance, Legal, Operations…
14/09/2020
About us
In case you missed it: IFOAM EU continues growing as IFOAM Organics Europe (and has a new website!)
It has been more than 15 years since we started our work of making Europe more organic. Since then, we…
07/09/2020
GMOs
First open source detection test for a gene-edited GM crop
This press release was first published by Greenpeace EU Brussels, 07 SEPTEMBER 2020 – Greenpeace, together with other non-governmental organisations,…
01/09/2020
About us
Saying goodbye to our colleague
Carolina Ana Ferreira Carolina started as volunteer in 2018 in the event and membership unit. After one year of volunteering…
01/09/2020
About us
Welcoming our new colleagues
IFOAM Organics Europe is excited to welcome its new volunteers. They joined our team in September and will work with…
Farm gate nutrient budgets in organic agriculture
The RELACS project partners issued practical guidelines informing farmers about assessing the main nutrient flows in and out of their…
04/08/2020
Plant health care
Request for proposal: Conducting research on pesticide contamination in the environment and pesticide residues in organic food
IFOAM Organics Europe (IFOAM OE) is the European umbrella organisation for organic food and farming. We fight for the adoption…
Welcome note July 2020
Dear IFOAM Organics Europe members,Dear reader, I am honoured and humbled by the trust you are putting into my colleagues…
Political hotspot July 2020
With the publication of the EU Biodiversity and Farm to Fork (F2F) strategies, the European Commission puts organic food and…
08/07/2020
About us
Read about our vision for a sustainable European food and farming system and our achievements in 2019 in our digital annual report
IFOAM Organics Europe’s 2019 annual report is available online. Read about our 2019 achievements as a European organic movement in…
30/06/2020
About us
PRESS RELEASE: Jan Plagge re-elected President of IFOAM Organics Europe (and a rebranding for IFOAM EU)
BRUSSELS, 30 JUNE 2020 – At its 10th General Assembly, IFOAM Organics Europe’s members elected a new Board. They re-elected Jan Plagge as President. He is the President of Bioland e.V. (Germany and North Italy) and has…
30/06/2020
About us
IFOAM EU proud to continue growing as IFOAM Organics Europe – New website marks change
We have updated our presence! Since our organisation was established in 2003, it has grown significantly together with the organic…
Help us identifying the needs and knowledge gaps in organic fruit growing – Fill out BIOFRUITNET’s questionnaire
Plant protection against pests and diseases is a big issue for organic fruit growers, as fruit is a very sensitive…
19/06/2020
About us
Saying goodbye to our colleague
Kaja Gutzen Kaja joined IFOAM Organics Europe in July 2019 as a European Solidarity Corps volunteer. She was based at…
17/06/2020
About us
IFOAM EU welcomes the Steering Committee (SC) of its Interest Group on Certification and Integrity (IGOC)
On 6 May, IFOAM EU’s Interest Group of Certification and Integrity (IGOC) elected a Steering Committee (SC) to ensure the…
European Patent Office: No patents on conventionally bred varieties
On 14 May 2020, the enlarged board of appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) has released an opinion that…
Welcome note April 2020
Dear readers, For all of us, these days are really challenging. We are facing a crisis where no one can…
Political hotspot April 2020
The current COVID-19 pandemic has far reaching effects on Europe, life as we know it, agriculture and the organic sector.…
21/04/2020
COVID19
COVID-19 – A double-edged sword for the European organic sector
The coronavirus is causing the biggest and most acute crisis Europe faced in the last decades, and it is also…
IFOAM EU’s General Assembly is going digital!
On 30 June 2020 IFOAM EU will host its 10th General Assembly. At this biannual meeting, IFOAM EU’s membership reviews…
Open Letter: CSOs open letter on the importance and urgency of publishing the Farm to Fork strategy: no further delays, keep April 2020 as publication date
Brussels, 14 April 2020 To:Executive Vice-President Frans TimmermansCommissioner Stella KyriakidesCommissioner Janusz WojciechowskiCommissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius CC:Anne Bucher, Director-General of DG SANTE…
05/04/2020
About us
Saying Goodbye to Isabella Lang
After almost 3 years at IFOAM EU, we are saying goodbye to IFOAM EU Policy Coordinator Isabella Lang, who will…