Brussels, 08/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 8 February, the European Commission officially announced the winner of the competition to design the new logo of the European Union for organic products. Over the last two months, some 130,000 people have voted online to choose the new organic symbol from the designs of the three finalists. The winning logo is by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from Germany, whose "Euro-leaf" design won 63% of all votes cast (82,149 votes in favour of this logo; the runner-up received 34,606 votes, or 27% of the total).
As of 1 July 2010, the organic logo of the European Union must feature on all pre-packaged organic products made in the member states of the Union and which fulfil the standards required. It will be optional for imported products. The use of private, regional or national logos alongside the EU one will be permitted. The regulation on organic agriculture will be modified over the next few weeks, to introduce the new logo into one of its appendices.
"This exercise has raised the profile of organic food and we now have a logo which everyone will be able to identify with. It's a nice elegant design and I look forward to buying products carrying this logo from July this year", said the European agriculture commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, in a press release.
The "Euro-leaf" logo which won the competition represents the stars of the European Union in the shape of a leaf on a green background. It is a symbol which refers to nature and to Europe. The winner and two runners-up will be awarded their prizes by the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission, in an official ceremony to take place in Brussels in July 2010; they will receive prizes of €6,000, €3500 and €2500 respectively.
Answering questions from the press, Fischer Boel said that currently "we have a jungle of organic logos", private and public, which are coexistent on product packaging. It is not her wish for the various private symbols to disappear. She simply wants the obligation to display the European logo to be observed and this can be in addition to public or private national logos. Does organic production have a future and what must be done in order to make the most of this kind of farming? As of 1 July 2010, the organic logo of the EU will be obligatory and at the same time, the EU will launch a campaign to promote organic products, the commissioner said, explaining that these two tools will help to raise the awareness of Europeans of the quality of organic products. (L.C./transl.fl)