| The IFOAM EU Regional Group is an independent regional group within IFOAM. It is therefore a part of the IFOAM infrastructure and is made up of some 330 IFOAM members in the EU, EFTA and accesion
countries, covering the complete range of organic professional and consumer organisations, including
producer associations, research establishments, certification bodies, consultants, development
organisations, processors, wholesalers and retailers. It is registered as an international not-for-profit
organisation in Sweden.
The EU Group represents IFOAM members in EU, EFTA and EU Candidate countries and is a forum for
common interest, information exchange, development and policy work. Primary responsibility is vested in a Board, which is elected nationally, ie the IFOAM members in each EU/EFTA/Candidate country elect one Board member and one substitute. The EU Group Board holds formal meetings three or four times a year in different member countries. Much of the work is carried out in sub-committees that have responsibility for specific subjects: Regulation, Policy, Research, and Administration/Finance. Regular meetings are held in
Brussels at the invitation of Commission officials. These consultative meetings are an important channel of direct communication between the two parties. The EU Group Board is also represented on a number of EU Commission committees, including the advisory committee on quality and health, the standing group on organic farming, the expert working group on the European organic action plan and several expert working groups of the standing committee on organic farming. |
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