EBIC Calls for Simplified EU Regulation
May 2025
EBIC has issued a call to action for the European Commission to simplify current EU regulation that govern plant biostimulants. These technologies are key tools for sustainable and competitive agriculture, but the existing regulatory framework is outdated, restrictive, and ultimately damaging to farmers’ competitiveness and efforts to improve sustainability.
In a newly-released position paper, EBIC outlines its advice for targeted reforms to the Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR 1009/2019) and related regulations, which it feels is impeding innovation, restricting access to sustainable agricultural inputs, and placing disproportionate burdens on producers. Accompanied by a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Hansen and Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis, the document forms part of EBIC’s contribution to the EU’s broader agricultural simplification initiative for the benefit of farmers.
“Farmers are under pressure to increase productivity while reducing their environmental footprint,” said Jessica Fitch, speaking on behalf of EBIC Secretariat. “But outdated, inflexible rules are making it harder for them to access the tools that would help them do just that.”
The position paper highlights three key areas where simplification would deliver immediate, high-impact benefits:
- Micro-organisms in CMC 7:
Currently, only four types of micro-organisms are approved under the EU’s common component (CMC 7) list, effectively blocking market access for a wide range of safe, beneficial organisms already in use elsewhere. EBIC proposes a criteria-based approval system to unlock these innovations and ensure harmonised market access across the EU. - Animal By-Products in CMC 10:
The paper criticises current rules that prevent many circular materials, like hydrolysed proteins, from being used in fertilising products—even when they are safe and widely used at the national level. EBIC calls for a science-based approach and the removal of disproportionate mitigation measures. - “REACH+” Requirements:
The FPR imposes regulatory burdens that go beyond the EU’s main chemical regulation, REACH. These extra obligations, EBIC argues, are not grounded in risk-based science and disproportionately affect small and medium-sized businesses without improving safety. The group proposes returning to standard REACH rules and introducing a more proportionate, tiered approach to compliance.
EBIC warns that without urgent simplification, the EU risks falling behind other global regions with more agile regulatory frameworks. This could stifle innovation, drive investment elsewhere, and delay a competitive and green transition in European agriculture.
“Safe, effective products are being blocked not by science or risk, but by outdated structures,” the paper states. “This hurts farmers, businesses, and the environment.”
EBIC also stresses the importance of ensuring consistent implementation of the FPR across Member States to avoid market fragmentation and legal uncertainty.
The proposals outlined in the position paper could, in some cases, be enacted through secondary legislation—meaning the European Commission has a clear path to act quickly.
EBIC has requested a meeting with Commissioner Hansen’s team to discuss its proposals and support further action in the coming weeks so European farmers can access the tools they need to farm sustainably and competitively.
Contact Jessica@prospero.ag for more information