EU Council and Parliament Reach Provisional Deal on Organic Farming Rules
Council and Parliament negotiators provisionally agree to update EU organic rules, easing burdens for small operators and extending import equivalence until 2036; final adoption targeted for end-2026.
The story in focus
The Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on 20 October 2026 to revise the EU organics regulation, reducing administrative burdens for small operators, clarifying import rules, extending equivalence recognition for 11 non-EU countries until 2036, and omitting a Commission proposal on non-compliant ingredients. The deal requires formal endorsement and adoption before the end of 2026.
- Provisional deal updates production, labelling, certification and trade rules for organic products.
- Small-operator certification exemption thresholds rise from €20,000 to €40,000 turnover and from 5,000 kg to 10,000 kg.
- Equivalence recognition for 11 non-EU countries, including the US and Canada, extended from 2026 to 2036.
Small operators and imports
Under current rules, small operators selling unpackaged organic products directly to consumers are exempt from certification. The provisional agreement raises the annual turnover threshold for this exemption from €20,000 to €40,000, calculated as an average over the previous five years, and the annual sales volume threshold from 5,000 kg to 10,000 kg.
The deal also extends the exemption, under certain conditions, to small online retailers selling pre-packed organic products. For imports, products from countries whose organic rules are recognised as equivalent can keep using terms such as 'organic' and may carry the origin country's organic logo; use of the EU organic logo would require additional production and monitoring requirements.
The agreement extends equivalence recognition for 11 non-EU countries, including Argentina, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, until 31 December 2036.
Logo rule and next steps
Negotiators agreed to remove the Commission's proposal to allow the EU organic label on products containing less than 5% of ingredients from non-EU countries that do not meet additional criteria.
The provisional agreement also provides temporary flexibility for non-organic protein feed for poultry and pigs, and for aquaculture juveniles, with derogations to be phased out gradually. Products already labelled under existing rules may be sold until stocks are exhausted.
The agreement must now be endorsed by the Council and the Parliament, followed by legal-linguistic revision and formal adoption by both institutions. The aim is to complete adoption before the end of 2026.
What changes for small organic operators under the provisional EU deal?
The annual turnover threshold for the certification exemption rises from €20,000 to €40,000, averaged over five years, and the sales volume threshold from 5,000 kg to 10,000 kg. The exemption is also extended, under conditions, to small online retailers of pre-packed organic products.
Sources & further reading
- Council and Parliament strike deal on updated measures to support organic farming in the EU ↗consilium.europa.eu
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