EBIC’s 2025 highlights: advocacy, collaboration, thought leadership
December 2025
2025 has been another exciting year for the plant biostimulants sector in Europe. Against a backdrop of climate pressure, evolving sustainability goals and a shift in political priorities, EBIC has continued to champion a competitive and innovative Single Market for plant biostimulants.
From high-level policy engagement to collaborative workshops, through technical advocacy and thought leadership events, EBIC’s intense work this year has helped advance the regulatory and commercial prospects for plant biostimulants in the years to come.
Regulatory advocacy
Progress on the Chemicals Omnibus VI
One of the most significant policy developments this year was the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal to simplify certain requirements and procedures for chemical products (Omnibus VI, known as the ‘Chemicals Omnibus’), which includes measures to restore normal REACH requirements for fertilising products and to create a criteria-based pathway for micro-organisms to be used in microbial plant biostimulants. These two measures have been on EBIC’s agenda for many years, and their inclusion in the Omnibus is largely due to the association and our members’ continued work and advocacy.
The Council of the European Union examined the Commission’s proposal and adopted their general approach on November 5th. Their position was considered broadly constructive, focused on refinements rather than major changes. In line with EBIC’s outreach, the Council agreed to revert to normal REACH obligations for most substances used in fertilising products, and to enable the Commission to define criteria and a methodology for new micro-organisms, reinforcing the role of Notified Bodies in microbial evaluation.
The Chemicals Omnibus VI is progressing through the EU’s legislative process, with the European Parliament now starting to discuss their position on the proposal. EBIC will continue to engage with the European institutions, in collaboration with our members, to ensure that the Chemicals Omnibus VI leads to simplification and improves market access for plant biostimulants.
Evaluation of the Fertilising Products Regulation
The EU Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR) evaluation has been a major focus for EBIC in 2025 and will continue in 2026. As part of the European Commission’s ongoing evaluation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, EBIC actively contributed at every stage of the process. This included submitting detailed input to both the Call for Evidence and the public consultation questionnaire, ensuring that the specific realities of the biostimulants sector were clearly represented. EBIC participated in the first FPR evaluation workshop, where key challenges and opportunities around implementation, market access and innovation were discussed, and was also interviewed by the Commission’s appointed contractors, providing further technical and market insight. EBIC will continue to engage with the FPR evaluation study until its conclusion, expected for June of 2026.
Food and feed safety simplification
In addition, EBIC took advantage of the call for evidence for the Food and Feed Safety Simplification omnibus (Omnibus X) to suggest an amendment of the Plant Protection Products Regulation (PPPR) to clarify the regulatory boundary between plant biostimulants and plant growth regulators. The European Commission adopted its proposal for a regulation to simplify and strengthen food and feed safety requirements on December 16th, including a proposal to amend Article 2(1)(b) in the PPPR along the lines of what EBIC suggested in the call for evidence. This amendment could finally shed light on what has been a problematic grey area between the FPR and the PPPR for many years, so EBIC will engage with the co-legislative process to secure this amendment in the final version of Omnibus X.
Multi-stakeholder collaboration
Building bridges across the value chain
Working with other associations to support a more competitive and sustainable future for agriculture was an important goal for EBIC in 2025.
Throughout the year, EBIC partnered closely with organisations including:
- National associations on plant biostimulants (AEFA, AFAÏA, Artemis, Assofertilizzanti, BELFertil, Croplife Denmark, SPEL, IVA, UNIFA, etc.), supporting engagement with national authorities, particularly in the context of the Chemicals Omnibus negotiations.
- ECOFI, supporting the proposal for a criteria-based pathway for new materials under the FPR, which would help unlock innovation, or joining forces to be able to use animal-by-products (CMC 10) in fertilising products.
- ESPP, presenting a joint letter at the ESPP workshop, reinforcing common objectives around nutrient circularity and sustainable fertilisation strategies.
- Fertilizers Europe, aligning on the need to revisit the multiple-use answer in the Frequently Asked Questions document for the FPR.
- I. S. E., exchanging perspectives on regulatory approaches for micro-organisms used in detergents compared to plant biostimulants.
Engaging with Regulators
EBIC engaged with policy makers at multiple levels and contributed to several regulatory consultations and expert groups, including:
- Participation as an observer in the meetings of the Commission Expert Group on Fertilising Products and the Coordination Group of Notified Bodies, highlighting the need for proportionate and evidence-based requirements under the FPR.
- Meetings with the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, as well as several Members of the European Parliament.
- Submissions in the context of the European Commission’s roadmap on Nature Credits, the call for evidence for the Organic simplification package, consultations on the Circular Economy Act, the Water Resilience Strategy, the Single Market Strategy and the Start-up and Scale-up Strategy, as well as a tailored interview and a submission to the call for evidence for the Biotech Act.
Events
EBIC delivered or partnered in several high-quality events in 2025.
EBIC Experts Forum: our members-only event for in-depth discussions
In March, the EBIC Experts Forum (EEF) gathered EBIC members across seven project teams, in-person and online, to review EBIC’s work plan for 2025, get updates on the most relevant issues and discuss potential solutions together.
EBIC Summit 2025: Making competitive and sustainable EU agriculture a reality
In June, the EBIC Summit, our flagship event, brought together in Brussels policymakers, industry leaders across the food chain, farmer representatives and other invited stakeholders for its third edition to explore how to find a balance between sustainability and competitiveness for the future of EU agriculture, and the role that plant biostimulants could play in this.
The Summit programme combined keynote addresses, plenary discussions and parallel working sessions focused on Circular Economy and Animal By-Products (official EU Green Week Partner Event), Beneficial Microorganisms and the Bioeconomy, and Empowering Farmers to Keep Pace with Innovation.
At the end of the Summit, EBIC’s President, Carlos Rodriguez-Villa Föster delivered a call to action, urging EU institutions to adopt regulation that enables innovators who respect quality and safety standards.
Midterm Strategy Workshop
In November, EBIC held its Mid-Term Strategy (MTS) workshop, with the goal to recalibrate the 2023–2027 strategy. This online session focused on how the external environment has evolved between when the strategy was designed in 2023 and now, and whether EBIC’s 12 strategic goals remain aligned with members’ business needs for the next two years.
Members agreed that the goals continue to set the right direction for the association. Through four breakout groups, participants provided targeted input on each of these goals, highlighting priorities such as regulatory predictability and global alignment.
This reinforces EBIC’s commitment to delivering a strategy grounded in members’ real-world challenges and opportunities.
Biostimulants World Congress 2025: Barcelona (2–4 December)
In December, the BWC, organised by New Ag International in partnership with EBIC, gathered more than 1500 participants in Barcelona for four days of intense networking, strategic alliances, commercial opportunities, regulatory updates and scientific discussions. As a strategic partner for the event, EBIC was well represented by its members, Secretariat and Board. Insights from the BWC will feed into the refinement of EBIC’s strategy for 2026.
New energy for EBIC
Finally, over the course of 2025, EBIC welcomed 7 new member companies and our Board of Directors was renewed through the election by the membership of a new President, Vice President, Treasurer and three Directors-at Large. Elections were quite competitive, showing our members’ commitment to the association. The new composition of the EBIC Board can be found on the EBIC website.
Looking Ahead
Overall, 2025 has been a pivotal year for consolidating the recognition of plant biostimulants and improving the regulatory frameworks that apply to them. As we move into 2026, EBIC remains committed to ensuring that plant biostimulants are exploited as essential tools for resilient and sustainable agriculture.
Together with our members, we look forward to another year of progress and collaboration.