The candidate for EU commissioner for Agriculture and food, Mr. Christophe Hansen is clear – control over counterfeit honey must be tightened!
Today, November 4, 2024 the European Parliament questioned the candidate for EU Commissioner for Agriculture and food Mr. Christophe Hansen.
For more than 3 hours, I listened to the hearing of the candidate for EU Commissioner, Mr. Christophe Hansen. He received a question from a Members of the EU Parliament on the topic of labeling honey. He made it very clear that there is a need to improve the work in terms of labeling. He emphasized that a very important achievement of the European Commission in the past mandate was the amendment of the Honey Directive, which very clearly requires the labeling of honey by country of origin. He was also clear that more needs to be done against counterfeit honey, as the honey must be of good quality, so control in this area must be increased, as it is a matter of misleading consumers. He also mentioned the importance of bees for pollination. In short, I can say that he showed knowledge of beekeeping issues and that we EBA members can be happy that we were in contact with him before the hearing and already presented the issue to him.
We inform you that already on October 1, 2024, contacted the candidate for the European Commissioner for Agriculture and food, Mr. Christophe Hansen.
We sent him the following letter:
Dear Mr. Christophe Hansen,
I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your re-election as a Member of the European Parliament and wish you the best of luck in the upcoming hearing for the position of European Commissioner. I am writing to share with you a letter (attached) regarding an urgent issue affecting the honey industry in Europe: honey adulteration. As stated in the letter, we are concerned for both consumers and honest beekeepers across the EU.
We greatly appreciate your support and look forward to your feedback.
https://ebaeurope.eu/
Boštjan Noč,
President of the European Beekeeping Association
Mr. Christophe Hansen sent us the following reply on October 4, 2024:
Dear Mr. Noč,
Thank you very much for your letter. Beekeeping and honey production have always been high on my political and professional agenda. The latest example was the change in the opinion of the ENVI committee on the EU budget, which emphasizes the key role of pollinators. That commitment will remain true if I pass the hearing and become the next Agriculture and Food Commissioner.
In the meantime, I will explore options to address the issues you rightly mention. I also suggest that we try to have a meeting shortly after the next Commission’s mandate begins.
Best regards,
Christophe Hansen
Boštjan Noč
President of the European Beekeeping Association
