Welcome Note September 2024
Welcome to our post-summer newsletter. As summer turns into autumn, we embrace the productive months ahead and use this newsletter to update you on developments relevant for EU organic. Among the highlights during this short period are month’s publication of the recommendations of the strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture, our movement’s vision on a piece of EU policy that can make or break this transition: the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and a loud and clear call from the food industry to label new genomic techniques (NGTs).
Besides this, we have been building bridges at inspiring events, including our annual General Assembly, bi-annual Youth Event, and flagship annual European Organic Congress. In this welcome note we will dive into the highlights of what comes up and what has passed. For more details I would like to encourage you to read on in this newsletter.
Looking ahead: Building bridges & celebrating EU organic
As European organic movement and voice of organic with the EU institutions, we will make sure the new European Parliament and incoming European Commission know our priorities so they are reflected in EU policies and decision-making. Of course, we do in close collaboration with our members!
The best opportunities for that are only a few days away, namely the annual EU Organic Day on 23 September and the EU Organic Awards ceremony in Brussels on the same day. In its 2021 Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, the European Union declared 23 September as ‘EU Organic Day’ and established the annual EU Organic Awards. As European umbrella for organic, we co-organise the awards and ensure the movement’s visibility on ‘our’ day.
In 2024, our EU Organic Day grew even more, making organic and its innovative approaches more visible through a series of regional, national and international events and campaigns. Get to know what is happening near you and how you can get involved on our map with initiatives and using #EUorganicDay on your social media of choice. Are you organising an event yourself? Give it more visibility by submitting your initiative today! We invite you to get to know organic near you and celebrate organic with us – either online or in person and share your pictures using #EUorganicDay.
Of course, we will also be present at the EU Organic Awards ceremony in Brussels. On Monday 23 September, 8 winners will be announced (out of 24 finalists) from across the organic supply chain – from farmers, processors, retailers and restaurants to progressive cities, regions and biodistricts. All finalists were preselected by a jury based on their initiative’s excellence, innovative character, sustainability and transferability. We already applaud all nominees for their dedication, hard work and commitment to organic’s principles. If you know of any initiatives this might apply to, keep an eye on the awards’ website and encourage them to apply for next year’s edition (applications will most likely open in March 2025 and past finalists can reapply!).
Looking back: Building a common vision for agrifood’s future in Budapest
On 10-12 September, over 250 participants joined our annual flagship event, the European Organic Congress 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. High-level representatives of the EU institutions, national ministries, the Presidencies of the current and upcoming Council of the EU, and Members of the European Parliament exchanged on recent political developments about the new EU political mandate to address current social, environmental and economic crises with a common vision – across the agri-food sector, civil society and the world of science.
We organised this well-timed event with our local partner, Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi) with support of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture.
Summarising such well-filled programme in a few sentences is hard, so I would encourage you to read our main take-aways, check speakers’ presentations and get some first impressions in our photo gallery (or take a deep dive in our Facebook album). In the meantime, save the date for the European Organic Congress on 18-19 August 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thank you for being part of our vibrant IFOAM Organics Europe community and network. We look forward to continuing our journey to building a common, more sustainable and resilient future for Europe’s agrifood system in which organic continues to lead this transformation.
Remember, don’t panic, the future is organic!
Eduardo Cuoco, IFOAM Organics Europe’s Director