Where: Rue Lucien Febvre in front of the European Parliament, Strasbourg
When: 12 December 2023 – From 10.00-11:00 CET
Who: Copa and Cogeca with the support of FDSEA67
What: Copa and Cogeca’s Honey Working Party is organising a Flash action with the attendance of MEPs and EU beekeepers to express their needs and concerns ahead of a key vote in plenary for the future of the sector. This Flash action is part of the ongoing campaign titled #HoneYstlabellingnow. Following opening speeches, a visual flash action will take place around 10.30/10.45. Interested journalists will have the opportunity to exchange with beekeepers afterwards.
Why: European professional beekeepers are on their knees. Climate change has affected production in recent years, coupled with soaring prices. Several important European markets such as Hungary, Spain and Italy have ceased to function. The increase in beekeepers’ selling prices is not passed on to the market, which prefers cheaper imported honey, today mainly from China. Thus, the EU could lose a third of its hives in the coming years meaning further imports. Against this backdrop, the publication by the European Commission services of a study proving massive fraud on these imported honeys is the straw that has broken the camel’s back! Of the 320 samples received from the competent authorities of the participating countries, 147 (46%) were suspected of not complying with the provisions of the European directive on honey. Official methods currently used are not suitable for detecting all present frauds. The situation is extremely worrying, and we need a quick response from EU decision makers. All European beekeepers agree on the problem but also on the major European solutions. Considering the ongoing revision of the honey directive, European beekeepers and their cooperatives are calling for transparent labelling of the country of origin, with the percentage in descending order, enhancing better traceability, and a European Reference Laboratory to continuously update and harmonize laboratory testing. Learn more about our concerns via the video link here.
