In 2019, the initiative of the Beekeeping Association of Slovenia was for many an impossible mission, but with the support of the Slovenian state and numerous beekeeping organizations throughout Europe, an important victory was achieved for consumers and beekeepers from all over Europe!

In 2019, the Beekeeping Association of Slovenia submitted an initiative to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, asking it to submit an initiative to the European Union (EU) that all honey on the market be marked with the country of origin, and not, as before, “a mixture of honey from the EU and outside the EU”, which was the best way to hide the country of origin and pour only a minimal amount of domestic honey into the jar, with the absolute dominance of imported honey of dubious origin and quality.

During 2020, together with Portugal, Slovenia presented the initiative at the meeting of the EU Council for Agriculture and Fisheries.

The initiative was given by Mr. Boštjan Noč, the president of the Beekeeping Association of Slovenia, who is also the initiator of the establishment of the European Beekeeping Association – EBA.

The first support for this fantastic initiative was provided by the beekeeping associations who later supported the establishment of the European Beekeeping Association and were part of the initiative committee for its establishment, because those two steps are a logical sequence of events, since nothing has changed in European honey regulations for years, no one he did not give any ideas, and the reality exceeded all outdated regulations, and it was simply necessary to act, or European beekeeping would fail, i.e. right now it is on the edge of the abyss, and the harmony between the beekeeping associations of Europe must be greater than ever, as we would fight to the end with all the problems we currently have, which are included in the first 3 main goals of the establishment of the European Beekeeping Association-EBA! That’s why we once again invite all European beekeeping associations to immediately join the European Beekeeping Association -EBA, because we need urgent results!

By the way, the European Parliament adopted yesterday new rules for marking the origin of honey! Consumers will be able to make a decision about buying honey on store shelves, based on true data on the origin, because instead of the words “honey from the EU and honey from outside the EU”, the honey packer will have to list all the countries of origin of the honey in the central visual field of the product in descending order according to the amount of honey from that country in the jar.

In addition, the European Commission will establish a working group of experts that will deal with identifying adulterated honey and improving traceability. For this purpose, an EU reference laboratory for honey will be established and harmonized methods for detecting adulterated honey will be developed.

Now the voted change must be accepted by the Council of the EU and published in the Official Gazette of the EU, and it will enter into force 20 days after that. Member states will then have a two-year transition period to implement the changes.

This is a great victory in the fight for authentic and quality honey for the European consumer and beekeeper!

The president of the Beekeeping Association of Slovenia, Mr. Boštjan Noč, said: “This is one of the biggest victories, a victory for the protection of consumers and beekeepers of all of Europe.” In 2019, when Mr. Dr. Andreja Kandolf Borovšak presented the idea of mandatory labeling of honey with an exact indication of the country of origin, many laughed, because they did not believe that Slovenia could succeed with this initiative. Expert arguments, which were excellently presented in the EU by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of Slovenia, convinced many countries throughout the EU, and the almost unanimous support (only 9 against) of MEPs is new proof that Slovenia achieves a lot when it sticks together. Even as the initiator of the establishment of the European Beekeeping Association, based in Slovenia, I will continue to work to improve the preservation of bees and beekeeping in Europe together. It is necessary to “banish” counterfeit honey from the European market, we must start with the promotional campaign “Europeans choose domestic honey”, i.e. honey from their own country or at least originating from the territory of Europe. The first step has been taken, from now on honey will be marked with the exact country of origin and the consumer will be able to choose honey by country of origin. I would like to thank the ministers during that period Ms. Dr. Aleksandra Pivec, Mr. Dr. Jože Podgoršek, Ms. Irena Šinko and Mr. Mateja Čalušić for their excellent work, I thank the members of the European Parliament for their support and I thank all the professional services.”

The European Beekeeping Association – EBA is proud to have in its ranks such a man as Mr. Boštjan Noč, whose persistence knows no obstacles and for whom nothing is impossible.

Encourage your beekeeping association to join the European Beekeeping Association – EBA, be in the company of the best and our common successful future is assured!