The Euro-leaf EU organic logo was introduced on 1 July 2010, but in order to help operators adapt to the new rules, and to avoid waste of existing packaging, a 2-year transition period was allowed before it was compulsory on all products.
The European Commission approved this week 26 programs in 13 Member States to provide information and promote agricultural products in the European Union. Total budget for the programs, which will run for between one and three years, is €75.1 million, of which the EU will contribute €37.6 million (50%).
Pressed hard by outraged farmers, the European Union farm chief on Wednesday increased his offer of compensation for the E. coli outbreak to Euro210 million.
Reports from the European Union and Mercosur confirm that negotiations for a trade agreement remain at ‘technical level’ and no information will be forthcoming until both sides have agreed on the lists of products to be exchanged.
The European Commission will be presenting in the next weeks a report on the consequences for the European agriculture of a trade agreement with Mercosur, announced EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos following a Thursday meeting of the Agriculture Council in Luxembourg.
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has pressed Ireland’s anxieties about ongoing trade talks with Mercosur with agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos who was most receptive to Ireland’s position, reports the Dublin media.
European Union agriculture ministers at the weekend rejected capping subsidies to Europe's biggest farms but compromised on a fairer share-out of funds between farmers in Eastern and Western Europe.
European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos has been warned of the dangers facing Scotland if the EU opens its markets to large quantities of ‘cheap meat’ imports from Mercosur, reports the Farmers’ Guardían.
A strongly worded resolution from Members of the European Parliament earlier this month outlining their concerns over agriculture does not represent a setback for EU-Mercosur trade talks, the EU chief negotiator said in Brussels.
A trade agreement with Mercosur should not have to destroy the European beef industry, said on Tuesday a spokesperson for the European Community who added that such fears are ‘exaggerated’.