Less Organic Food Due to Loss of European Subsidy

The agriculture ministers of the 27 EU countries defined their position on the future agricultural policy in Luxembourg. They want to eliminate the obligation to provide subsidies for organic production. This would largely place the decision on such subsidies in the hands of the individual EU countries.

The European Commission opposes this change. Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen believes that financial support for organic farming must remain mandatory. According to him, schemes helping farmers transition to organic production methods should also be maintained. Negotiations on these proposals are not yet concluded.

Budget Cuts

The discussion coincides with a looming reduction of the European agricultural budget. The Commission proposes to allocate about 300 billion euros for the period 2028–2034 for income support and crisis measures. According to Hansen, this corresponds to approximately 80 percent of the current agricultural budget. The final financial agreements have not yet been made.

Former EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski warns that the proposed cuts pose a serious threat to European agriculture. He criticizes the lower funding and points out that the Irish EU Presidency has not made a proposal to increase the agricultural budget.

Pesticides

In addition, the European Commission is considering stricter limits on residues of hazardous pesticides in imported food products. This includes pesticides that are already banned within the EU. At the same time, such substances are still exported from Europe to countries outside the EU, including Brazil.

European plans also spark debate beyond the EU. Canada aims to change its existing pesticide re-evaluation system while Europe is considering stricter measures. Canadian agricultural organizations differ in opinion about the consequences for their exports. Both competitiveness and access to the European food market play a role in this.