EU Ministers Call for Stronger, Simpler Farm Policies Amid Global Pressures
At a key Brussels meeting, EU agriculture leaders backed a new long-term vision for farming focused on food security, sustainability, and cutting red tape for farmers.
What Is the Agriculture and Fisheries Council?
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council is one of the EU's main decision-making bodies, made up of agriculture ministers from each EU member state. They meet regularly to coordinate and shape EU-wide policies on farming, food, fisheries, and rural development.
What Happened at the May 2025 Meeting?
On May 26, 2025, ministers discussed the European Commission’s new long-term vision for agriculture and food, which puts food security, farmer support, and sustainability at the core of EU policy. Ministers welcomed the plan, especially its focus on involving farmers directly in decisions that affect their livelihoods.
Poland’s agriculture minister Czesław Siekierski stressed, "Without farmers, there is no food." He and others highlighted the need to simplify complex rules, ensure proper funding, and make farming more attractive to future generations.
Ministers agreed on:
Keeping a strong and well-funded Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
Supporting rural areas and younger farmers
Encouraging sustainable farming and water resilience
Providing EU aid to border regions hit by the war in Ukraine
They also addressed ongoing market pressures—from climate issues to rising costs—and urged better coordination with Ukraine and the U.S. to protect EU farmers.
The Council also backed a proposal to cut red tape in EU farming regulations, which farmers have long demanded. That means reducing or eliminating unnecessary rules, paperwork, or administrative burdens. The goal is to make life easier for farmers and allow them to focus more on producing food, not filling out forms or navigating complex regulations.
Why It Matters:
The EU is home to nearly 10 million farms. What gets decided in Brussels impacts what’s on Europe's plates—and how it's produced. This new vision is about securing Europe’s food future while keeping farmers in business and on the land.
Source: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/agrifish/2025/05/26/