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…
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…
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…
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…
25/01/2023
Labelling
EU organic movement takes legal action to defend reliable environmental labelling of food products
[disponible en français ci-dessous / available in French below] BRUSSELS/PARIS, 25 JANUARY 2023 – Actors involved in the ecological transition…
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…
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!…
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…
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…
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.…
Sustainability labelling for food: one day to understand all about it
The European Commission is expected to reveal their proposal for a Regulation on Substantiating Green Claims based on the Product…
29/09/2022
Labelling
New position paper on sustainability labelling & the Planet-score
IFOAM Organics Europe published its new position paper on “Sustainability labelling & the Planet-score”. Political context This position paper comes…
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…
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…
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…
24/06/2022
Labelling
Sustainability labelling & the PEF – Closed event in the European Parliament
Green Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Benoît Biteau, Claude Gruffat and Michèle Rivasi held an invitation-only event in the…
ClieNFarms public policy workshop on climate-neutrality and food security, 8 July, online
On 8 July 2022, IFOAM Organics Europe is organising the first online public policy workshop of ClieNFarms on climate-neutral farming…
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,…
Wrapping up the RELACS project: Policy roadmaps, videos & other publications
The RELACS project, which aims at finding alternatives to contentious inputs in organic farming, came to an end on 29…
Sustainable nutrient management: our contribution to the European Commission’s public consultation
In Europe, surplus nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the environment are already exceeding safe planetary boundaries – for N…
EU Parliament saves Farm to Fork’s integrity but concedes on Biodiversity
BRUSSELS, 24 MARCH 2022 – IFOAM Organics Europe welcomes the European Parliament’s support to the Farm to Fork Strategy as…