News
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Study on the environmental impacts of achieving 25% organic land by 2030 published
The European Union’s ambitious Farm to Fork Strategy target of 25% organic farmland by 2030 is a clear statement of…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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!…
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…
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…
21/11/2022
Farm to Fork
Put sustainable school meals on the EU agenda - Sign the petition
The Buy Better Food Campaign has initiated an EU-wide petition for ‘A healthy meal for every child in every EU…
GMO-free Europe Event held at the European Parliament to take a stand discuss the European Commission's new NGT legislative proposal
The European Commission announced a new legislative proposal for so-called ‘Novel Genomic Techniques’ in the second quarter of 2023. This…
Representing organic at Bucharest Leaders’ Summit – The role of organic in the EU Green Deal
On 10 November 2022, our Director Eduardo Cuoco joined the Bucharest Leaders’ Summit via livestream. During a session on sustainable…
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,…
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.…
14/10/2022
GMOs
The scientists behind the GMO deregulation lobby – A story of vested interests
Many scientists currently active in agricultural biotechnology who lobby for deregulating so-called ‘new genomic techniques’ (NGTs) in the European Union…
14/10/2022
GMOs
Add your signature – Support these EU-wide petitions to stop attempts to deregulate new GMOs
The European Commission is working on a new legislative proposal for ‘New Genomic Techniques’ (NGTs). We expect this to be…
Save the Date: GMO-Free Europe Event 2022 - 17 November
We invite you to join us for a GMO-free Europe event at the European Parliament to discuss the European Commission’s…
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…
Welcome note September 2022 Newsletter - EU Organic Day and EU Organic Awards
23 September was a day of celebrations! Besides the autumn equinox, it was the second edition of EU Organic Day.…
27/09/2022
GMOs
Worrying step to deregulating GMOs: EU Agriculture Commissioner says “no controversy about direction” among EU Agricultural Ministers
The recent Informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Agriculture set a worrying tone for the political agenda regarding Genetically…
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…
Celebrating organic practices throughout the supply chain - Winners of the EU Organic Awards
BRUSSELS, 23 SEPTEMBER 2022 – Today, on EU Organic Day, representatives of a pan-European collaboration handed out the first EU…
Watch the EU Organic Awards ceremony, tomorrow 23/9, 10:00
Tomorrow, Friday 23 September, there will be the second edition of the EU Organic Day, established by the European Commission…
09/09/2022
EU Organic Day
EU Organic Day in two weeks – Join us (online) on 23/9
In two weeks, the European organic movement will have its time to shine at the EU Organic Day. Let’s use…
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…
Transformation scenarios for boosting organic farming & organic - OrganicTargets4EU project starts
The Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU officially started on 1 September 2022. Coordinated by IFOAM Organics Europe, the project aims to…
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…
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…
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…
EU Organic Awards - Get to know the finalists
BRUSSELS, 20 JULY 2022 – Today, the finalists for the first annual EU organic awards have been announced. 24 are…
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…
Review of events
We were thrilled, after two years of digital events, to meet again at the 2022 European Organic Congress. Below you find…
EU Organic Day approaches: Share your initiative, we will give it visibility - 23 September 2022
EU Organic Day is just around the corner, and we are looking forward to celebrating its first fully fledged edition…
27/06/2022
GMOs
Public consultation on new genomic techniques still ongoing + Member briefing
The 12-weeks consultation period of the European Commission in the context of the Impact Assessment for new legislation for ‘New…
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…
22/06/2022
Farm to Fork
Welcoming the national Organic Ambassadors to Brussels, 21 June
On June 21, the European Commission hosted a meeting of the recently created EU network of national Organic Ambassadors. These…