Solution in sight for organic salmon

‘This is very good news for Norway. We had already informed the EU that we were ready to incorporate the legislation in the EEA agreement, but we were unable to go ahead without Iceland,’ Minister of Fisheries Per Sandberg said.

‘The new Icelandic Government has dealt with this matter swiftly, which shows the importance they attach to market access and implementation. Standardised rules for the EU and the EEA improve the competitiveness of the aquaculture industries in both Iceland and Norway,’ said Minister of EEA and EU Affairs Frank Bakke-Jensen.

Since last autumn, organic salmon has not had market access in certain EU countries because the EU legislation on organic production and labelling of organic products is not yet formally incorporated into the EEA agreement. Norwegian organic salmon has met the EU standards for organic salmon all along, but all three EEA EFTA states must agree in order for the legislation to be incorporated.

‘Now we hope that Norwegian organic salmon will soon be in the shops in the parts of Europe where it has been boycotted,’ Mr Sandberg said.