Brussels: The European Parliament’s agriculture committee sharpened the European Union’s rules on organic imports on 14 July 2026, backing a Commission overhaul that decides which non-EU products may carry the bloc’s green-leaf logo and how certifiers police them. MEPs adopted the position by 37 votes to four with eight abstentions, and voted 40 to eight to open negotiations with the Council on the final law.
The reform matters because the current framework for organic imports expires on 31 December 2026. Without a deal, importers of coffee, cocoa, bananas and other goods sold as organic in European supermarkets would face a legal vacuum over how their certification is recognised.
Lawmakers want consumers to trust the label they pay a premium for. Under the text, produce from third countries may use the EU organic logo only when it meets equivalent standards and complies with additional production and control requirements. The committee also pressed for tighter checks on imported consignments and clearer traceability along supply chains.
Rapporteur Camilla Laureti, an Italian Socialist, framed the exercise as stability rather than upheaval.
My goal is to provide the sector with a stable regulatory framework that simplifies certain rules where possible, without overturning them after just a few years of implementation.
The push follows a Court of Justice ruling of 4 October 2024, which found that products recognised under older equivalence arrangements could not display the EU organic logo. The Commission tabled adjustments to close that gap and give traders legal certainty, and Parliament has now hardened several of them.
Organic imports feed a fast-growing market. European retail sales of organic food have more than doubled over the past decade, and a large share of tropical ingredients arrives from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Farmers inside the EU have long complained that laxer checks abroad let cheaper imports undercut their own certified produce.
The Parliament’s line converges with member states. The Council agreed its negotiating position on 11 May 2026, calling for simpler and clearer organic rules, so the two institutions can move quickly into trilogue talks. Negotiators aim to strike a deal before the December cliff-edge and put the text to a plenary vote soon after.
The Council mandate appears in the Council’s organic farming statement, while the committee vote is recorded in the Parliament’s press summary.
Some producer groups still worry the compromise leaves too much discretion to national control bodies, and want the Commission to publish a public list of approved third-country certifiers. Trade partners, for their part, warn that stricter documentation could slow shipments of perishable goods.
The stakes reach beyond farming. Organic imports touch trade policy, consumer protection and the credibility of the EU’s green-leaf brand, which the bloc promotes as a global benchmark. If the co-legislators miss the year-end deadline, officials may need a stop-gap extension to keep certified goods flowing while talks continue.
For now, the committee’s vote hands negotiators a clear mandate and a tight calendar. Laureti wants a plenary endorsement without delay, and the Council presidency has signalled it is ready to talk. Whether they can reconcile stricter oversight with smooth trade before the winter deadline will shape what European shoppers see on organic shelves in 2027.
