EU resumes imports of green products from Norway and Iceland

Green products from Norway and Iceland, including Norwegian organic salmon, are again eligible for import into the European Union and marketed properly in line with their organic product standards following the incorporation of the relevant rules of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA).

The long-awaited decision, recently adopted by the EEA Joint Committee, ends an eight-year period when organic producers in Norway and Iceland (the two affected EEA countries) were meeting obsolete standards that were no longer in force in the EU

Thanks to this decision, since 18th March, imports of organic salmon have been resumed, produced and certified by EEA countries in accordance with EU regulations.

Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, was pleased with the decision and said: “I am very pleased to see our EEA partners realize how important it is to have common standards as well as benefits for both producers and consumers on both sides. These rules guarantee a level playing field between EU and EEA eco-producers, which is of great benefit to each other. The Commission will never accept the relaxation of our strict rules as regards products which are produced, imported and marketed as organic. It is our responsibility to ensure consumer confidence and to ensure the credibility of the EU eco logo.

Strict regulations

In 1991, the EU first adopted the standards of organic production and labeling which it subsequently updated in 2007, with stricter rules in many cases. Later, in 2009, new production rules were introduced, mainly related to the production of ecological aquaculture.

In January 2015, all these rules became mandatory for EU producers. The delay in incorporating these new rules into the EEA Agreement led to a situation of unequal treatment of producers and operators

In particular, with regard to the EU aquaculture standards that apply to the production and certification of organic salmon, this delay meant that aquaculture products from EEA countries could neither be imported nor sold as ecological in the EU, which had negative consequences for producers in the EEA States and for importers and processors in the EU.

The EEA authorities had delayed the incorporation of these new provisions because some requests for exemption from certain technical points were still pending, particularly in relation to the use of fishmeal to feed ruminants and with some degree of flexibility in the labeled. These applications have already been withdrawn.

Background

Organic production is the only part of the legislation on the common agricultural policy of the EU (CAP) which falls within the scope of the EEA Agreement

This Agreement, which entered into force on 1st January 1994, brings together the EU Member States and three EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) in a single market and provides for the prompt incorporation of all legal acts which fall within its scope. The delay in incorporating the new legislation meant that the EEA countries continued to apply the organic production standards adopted by the EU in 1991. The incorporation of EU rules entails that both parties formally recognize and comply with such rules, at the same time paving the way for organic products from EEA countries to be imported and sold as such in the EU.

Food legislation does not apply to Liechtenstein, so incorporation and derived results are only valid in Iceland and Norway

Source: European Commission in Spain