News

MEPs gave the go-ahead to the new EU law on organic production and labelling, as agreed by Parliament’s negotiators and EU ministers on 28 June 2017, by 466 votes in favour to 124 against, with 50 abstentions. The agreed text still needs to be formally approved by the Council of EU ministers before it can enter into force. It shall apply from 1 January 2021. Read more

European households and businesses will have to recycle at least 55% of their municipal waste by 2025, according to stricter new rules passed by the European Parliament today (18 April). The legislation is part of a review of a series of directives agreed with the member states to improve the European economy’s ‘green credentials’. After the Parliament’s plenary vote, the Council will have to give its final consent. Read more

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched a new financing initiative that aims to unlock close to €1 billion of investment in the agriculture and bio-economy sector. The bio-economy sector encompasses the value chains of production and the processing of food, material and energy using renewable biological resources from land and sea. Read more

The Commission has published the Guidelines for the feed use of food no longer intended for human consumption, as integral part of the communication on the Circular Economy. These Guidelines should assist the national and local competent authorities, as well as the operators in the food chain, in applying the relevant Union legislation.

The European Commission has presented its long-awaited legislative measures to protect small-scale EU farming business from the ‘most damaging’ unfair trading practices undertaken by larger entities in the food chain. Read more