European Beekeeping Association (EBA)
The European Beekeeping Association (EBA) was founded in February 2024 as a European-wide association of beekeepers, whether allied to EU or not. The amount of work done so far is impressive and if it continues, could provide European beekeepers with a wonderful facility.
The organisation is voluntary with the head office in Lucovica, Slovenija. Membership is open to national BKAs and any organisation that represents beekeepers and works in the interests of bees, beekeeping and consumers.
The stated goals and tasks are activities to aid the fight against counterfeit honey, a programme of measures aimed at agro-ecological payments as compensation to beekeepers for their role as pollinators and wide-ranging measures regarding use of chemicals in relation to the health of bees. These are considered priority, but there are other measures being considered including promotion of European hive products, beekeeping tourism, training beekeepers, especially the young and consumer education programmes.
There is a regular downloadable EBA magazine “NO BEES, NO LIFE” This is packed full with information. Click the image to view current and past issues.
BIBBA Trustees have agreed to join EBA to lend support where possible and allow BIBBA members to have access to the wider European beekeeping community, where it previously didn’t exist. It is felt there is enough to interest all beekeepers, though, as with many similar organisations, not all will be appropriate to all members. Membership covers a very large area with different cultures, but with one common thread – the keeping of honey bees.
As of July 2025, there are around 55 beekeeping organisations as members from over 30 countries, with over 400,000 members total. This is a remarkable achievement in a short time, but it could be a very powerful European lobby if the need should arise.
“HOMEMADE” MASS SELECTION OF BEES
AN IMPERATIVE FOR SUSTAINABLE BEEKEEPING
Many queen bee breeders, over time, in pursuit of profit, became queen bee "producers". It is high time we, as beekeepers, take control of the selection process.
Read this article in issue 18 of the European Beekeeping Association magazine on improving your bees
note: the last sentence of page 41 "To preserve the purity of our race, it is necessary to import and buy queens annually"
should read "To preserve the purity of the imported race , it would be necessary to import and buy queens annually"
