The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, said, on 23 September, that he wanted to modernise the Community rules on organic farming, namely Regulation 2018/848 (basic act).
At the European Organic Awards 2025, he stated that he intended to take account of the rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU and to simplify the rules where appropriate (see EUROPE 13716/12). Mr Hansen insisted that there was no question of lowering the standards for organic farming. This is why he is planning a limited number of changes to the basic text between now and the end of the year. Mr Hansen also indicated that DG AGRI would be working with the stakeholders concerned to find the best responses, in particular by developing “a successor to the ongoing Action Plan”.
IFOAM Organics Europe said that it “takes note” of the announcement and welcomes the European Commission’s commitment to continue developing organic production and research through a new EU Organic Action Plan.
For the organisation, however, it is essential to ensure that this targeted review of the organic regulations “will focus on fixing legal issues and ensuring the regulation is coherent and implementable for the thousands of organic farmers and operators in the food production, who already deliver on sustainability”. IFOAM intends to ensure that none of the high standards set by organic regulations in terms of soil, water, biodiversity and animal welfare are called into question. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)