Representing the organic movement’s interests in the Commission’s Civil Dialogue Groups

The Civil Dialogue Groups (CDGs) are a tool to assist the European Commission and advise on policy. IFOAM Organics Europe is always represented in all CDGs meetings of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).  

On 19 October, IFOAM Organics Europe board member Marian Blom got re-elected as chair of the CDG on Organic Farming. The Chair is elected for one year and is engaged with shaping content and organisation of a CDG. We are proud of having her bringing organic onto the agenda in regular dialogues between stakeholders and the Commission. IFOAM Organics Europe president Jan Plagge has been chairing the CAP CDG for the last two years, and will continue to do so until the next elections in December.

Recent CDGs relevant to the organic movement 

All recent CDG meetings touch on the topic of the CAP negotiations, European Green Deal, the new organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848 as well as the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies in the respective areas.  

At the end of September, the CDG on Fruits and Vegetables took place as a subsection of Horticulture, Olives and Spirits. It covered topics such as plant health, with specific reverence to traces and plant protection in orchard.  

In the  beginning of October, the CDG on Environment and Climate Change assessed the impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on different areas, such as; water, habitats and biodiversity as well as a strategy on how to facilitate the uptake of bioprotection as alternative to pesticides.  

Mid-October, a few CDG meetings took place on: 

• The CAP, right before the European Parliament’s votes. Topics covered were Farmers for Future with an opening speech by Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski and information about the ongoing negotiations and the legislative acts; 
• Organic Farming, under the supervision of re-elected chair Marian Blom. Among the discussed topics: the state of play of the postponement of the application of the new organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848 along with a discussion on its secondary acts. Additionally, stakeholders and the EU Commission exchanged about the EU Organic Action Plan (AOP, open for feedback under a public consultation. More details please available on the Commission’s website.  
• Milk, it covered topics like the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the dairy market as well as the state of play in the dairy market.  

Topics like deforestation, the current market situation and influences of the CAP post 2020 on the beef and veal market were discussed by the section on animal products at the end of October.  

Upcoming CDGs relevant to the organic movement 

Upcoming CDG’s will be on other sections of Animal Products, Arable Crops, Environment and Climate Changes, Quality and Promotion as well as International Aspects of Agriculture. For a detailed overview, please check our calendar on the IFOAM Organics Europe member extranet.  

CDGs in times of the coronavirus and Covid-19  

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all meetings have switched to an online format. Within the last weeks several CDGs have taken place. We will keep you posted on our member extranet space on the CDG’s.  

Services for IFOAM Organics Europe members 

The range of expertise needed for our work on the CDGs could not be provided by IFOAM Organics Europe’s staff alone. We rely on our members to represent the organic movement at these meetings.  

Following a short and easy application process, interested members are assigned a two-years mandate by our board. This spring, our members received a call to represent the EU organic movement in the CDGs for the next period. A list of new members is available on the member extranet. 

To facilitate our interaction with our members in CDGs and share information with all of our members alike, we have created a new space on the extranet. It gives you easy access to agendas, presentations, and minutes of these meetings, shows upcoming CDGs and provides you with useful links.  

Should you have any questions regarding Civil Dialogue Groups and/or would like to share relevant information or highlight topics to cover in the upcoming CDGs, please write to: [email protected].  

Are you an IFOAM Organics Europe member who does not have access to our member extranet yet? Contact [email protected].