The European Industrial Hemp Association has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to clarify that all parts of the hemp plant fall within the EU’s agricultural scope, while reiterating its call for a harmonized THC threshold of 1%, in line with the ongoing review of the Common Agricultural Policy and the review of the Common Market Organization Regulation (EU) 1308/2013.
In its position paper entitled The hemp sector proposal for the 2028–2032 NPB, the EIHA set out a set of reforms aimed at strengthening legal certainty, competitiveness and sustainability for the European hemp sector. The proposals are expected to be debated in both the Council and Parliament in the coming months.
Recognition of the entire plant
EIHA expressed strong support for the Commission’s plan to expressly recognize all parts of the hemp plant, including leaves and flowers, as agricultural raw materials derived from authorized varieties. The association says this clarification is essential to end persistent legal uncertainty for farmers and processors, avoid divergent interpretations between member states, protect the internal market and provide clearer conditions for investment and innovation in the hemp value chain.
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By formally recognizing the entire plant, the EU would resolve longstanding inconsistencies that have plagued the sector and promote greater regulatory uniformity.
1% THC threshold
Along with whole-plant recognition, EIHA continues to advocate for a harmonized EU-wide THC threshold of 1% for industrial hemp. The current limit of 0.3%, they say, no longer reflects agronomic and climatic reality. Environmental changes can push the crops they combine beyond their limits, exposing growers despite good faith farming practices.
According to EIHA, the 1% threshold would provide legal certainty and reduce climate-related crop losses, expand the EU variety catalog and improve seed availability, support research, breeding and innovation, align EU standards with international benchmarks and maintain a clear line between industrial hemp and narcotic cannabis. Industrial hemp cultivated below 1% THC remains non-intoxicating, and continues to meet consumer protections through EU legislation regulating THC levels in final products.
Francesco Mirizzi, the managing director of the EIHA, stated that the first practical steps must be taken to reach the 1% goal: “The first decisive step to reach the 1% limit is to sensitize the members of the EU Parliament and the national ministers that 0.3% does not make sense from an agronomic point of view and if we compare the EU’s vision with the countries that are more advanced, if we compare it with the new Switzerland. Zealand or South Africa”.
As things begin to move on the hemp side, Francesco says the timelines now begin with the first discussions in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, although the challenges are already clear. “Discussions in the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee are expected to start next month, and member states are already debating the Commission’s proposal to allow the whole flower. Some member states are particularly reluctant, but we are confident that we will get there.”
EIHA says it stands ready to work constructively with EU institutions and Member States to ensure that the post-2027 NPB provides long-awaited clarity and competitiveness to the European hemp sector.
For more information:
European Industrial Hemp Association
(email protected)
eiha.org/