MEPs on the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee have backed proposed changes to EU rules on organic products, including tighter conditions for imported goods using the EU organic logo.
The committee adopted its position by 37 votes in favour, four against and eight abstentions on an update covering the production, labelling, certification and trade of organic products, the European Parliament announced on Tuesday.
Under the text, the EU organic production logo could be used on products imported from non-EU countries only if they meet equivalent standards and also comply with additional production and control requirements.
Small operators selling unpackaged organic products directly to consumers can currently be exempt from organic certification if they meet criteria linked to turnover, sales volume and certification costs.
MEPs agreed to raise the annual turnover threshold for that exemption to €25,000 from €20,000, and increase the sales-volume limit to 10,000 kg a year from 5,000 kg, after recent price rises pushed some producers above the existing turnover cap.
Changes also proposed for livestock housing
Rules on poultry houses built for fattening poultry and for daytime open-air access would be modified, with the aim of reducing administrative and logistical costs, the Parliament said.
Camilla Laureti, the rapporteur steering the file through Parliament, said her goal was to provide “a stable regulatory framework” that simplifies certain rules “without overturning them after just a few years of implementation.”
The committee also voted to enter negotiations with the EU Council on the final shape of the legislation, with the decision passing by 40 votes in favour, eight against and one abstention.
The Parliament informed the text would be put to a plenary vote “as soon as possible”, and that EU institutions will try to reach an agreement before the end of 2026 as current rules for organic food imports expire on 31 December 2026.
The European Parliament noted that the European Commission proposed adjustments after a Court of Justice judgment on 4 October 2024 stated that imported products recognised under equivalence arrangements cannot use the EU organic logo.
