Organic movement welcomes one-year postponement of the new Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848 implementation
The new EU Organic Regulation (EU) 20 18/848 was set to apply from 1 January 2021. As the development of the secondary legislation is still ongoing and many Delegated and Implementing Acts still have to be adopted. Most acts were planned to be published in November and December 2020, giving organic operators little to no time to adapt.
In April 2020, IFOAM Organics Europe asked for a one-year postponement of the application of the new rules, from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2022. IFOAM Organics Europe and its members advocated at all levels to make sure the implementation would be feasible for those working in organic. Convincing policy-makers on the need of this change of date was not easy as basic regulation are rarely amended before their implementation, but our work paid off. The Commission issued a proposal for a one-year postponement on 4 September 2020. The Special Committee on Agriculture (preparatory body of the EU Council) adopted it on 28 September 2020 and on the 8th of October, the EU Parliament voted on it in plenary session with 683 votes in favour, 3 against and 8 abstentions.
On 19 October, the Council of Ministers also adopted the proposal unanimously.
The postponement will be published on the EU Official Journal in around two weeks.