The first article of the national agricultural orientation law has been voted through French parliament, removing the targets of 15% of farmland for organic agriculture and 8% for legumes.
France will put on hold the rollout of its national plant protection reduction plan and may adopt an EU measurement indicator to measure a molecule toxicity factor despite criticism from NGOs.
Germany's agriculture ministry is pushing for more organic food in canteens and restaurants in a first step towards achieving the coalition's 2030 goal of ensuring 30% of arable land is dedicated to organic farming.
Organic farming could save countries billions in environmental and climate costs, a German long-term study found. However, the picture is soured by organic yields still trailing significantly behind those of conventional agriculture.
The European Parliament has green-lighted a new report on the EU’s organic action plan, which stresses a market-based approach but makes no mention of the bloc's ambitious target to see 25% of agricultural land farmed organically by 2030.
Albania’s beekeeping sector will be regulated as the government has proposed the final draft of a new law that would impact those with just one hive, in an effort to align with the EU acquis. But not all beekeepers are buzzing over the news.
The EU’s push on organic farming could have ripple effects across Africa, but only if African farmers have equal access to the EU Market as well as the skills and resources to capitalise on this, stakeholders have told EURACTIV.
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission came together on Thursday (23 September) to celebrate the launch of an annual ‘EU organic day', designed to promote organic agriculture in efforts to bolster its production and consumption in the EU.
EU agriculture ministers gave their green light for the EU organic action plan on Monday (19 July) but warned that measures must be taken to ensure that supply matches demand, including via public procurement schemes for schools and public canteens.
Organic food is "healthier" than its chemically produced counterparts, EU Agricultural Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told journalists at an event to mark the launch of the EU's organic action plan on Thursday (25 March).
African farmers fear being left alone in making sense of and applying environmental standards required by the European Union’s new food policy, said the voice of Kenya’s horticulture producers, who warned that without help, the new rules could jeopardise trade with Europe.
2019 is likely to be the year in which the much awaited reform of the main EU's massive farming subsidies programme, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), will see the light.
On the back of an increased interest in reconnecting consumers with local food, Croatian citizens are being offered the chance to be involved in an innovative 'agri-digital' project, known as a "Gruntek". EURACTIV Croatia took a closer look.
The European Commission's new food policy should be reviewed if a future impact assessment shows that it will negatively affect farmers, the newly-elected chair of farmers association COPA, Christiane Lambert, told EURACTIV.com.
The French government intends to allocate €100 million to develop the country's plant-based protein production. The decision, however, is based more on commercial rather than environmental concerns. EURACTIV France reports.
The European Commission launched a public consultation on its future action plan on organic farming on Friday (4 September), and also proposed to postpone by one year the entry into force of the new organic regulation.
A recent report by the government think tank France Stratégie demonstrates the profitability of more environmentally friendly farms and proposes a review of the methods of allocating CAP subsidies to encourage a green transition in farming. EURACTIV France reports.
With the EU's new food policy launched this spring, policymakers will now turn their attention back to the long-delayed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the staple of the bloc's farming industry and the biggest item in its budget.
On the back of growing concern over the target for 25% of EU farmland to be farmed organically by 2030, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski has lent the plan his support and stressed it is achievable. But farmers are still concerned that, as it stands, supply may well outstrip demand, which they say could "kill" the sector.
Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius has cast doubt on the long-standing primacy of food security over environmental aspects in the current EU food system, suggesting that traditional concerns might give way to issues like climate change, sustainability, or biodiversity.
The EU's Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy has targeted 25% of agricultural land in the EU being organically farming by 2030, a three fold increase.
After several delays, the EU's new flagship food policy was finally released on Wednesday (20 May), confirming the aspiration of the EU executive to transform the European way of producing, distributing and consuming food.
Backed by the organic food sector, EU's lawmakers are pushing the European Commission to delay the coming into force of the reformed organic regulation by one year.
The European strategy, which was intended to favour short distribution routes, has been postponed to a later date. However, the current COVID-19 health crisis is speeding up the agricultural sector's shift towards food self-sufficiency. EURACTIV France reports.
