The future of agriculture in the EU the topic of strategic dialogue

The EU agri-food sector provides safe, healthy and affordable food for 450 million people, the European Commission reports. The foundation of Europe’s food self-sufficiency is Europe’s farmers. They are currently grappling with many challenges, such as climate change, the energy crisis, and global market competitiveness. In addition, they need to show resilience to difficult-to-predict situations, such as the Covid 19 pandemic, the effects of the war in Ukraine, and inflation. The future of agriculture in the EU presents many challenges.

In addition, as the European Commission points out, they are making a crucial contribution to the European Union’s green transformation – the realization of the policy goals of the European Green Deal. There are currently more than 17 million people working in the EU agricultural sector, and their average age is 57. In the face of growing challenges, the EU is looking for the best ways to support farmers and for agricultural policy to be responsive to their needs. In order to develop proposals for solutions for a better future of agriculture in the EU on January 25, 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen initiated the strategic dialogue.

Launching a strategic dialogue – what will be the future of agriculture in the EU

In January 2024. A strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture has been launched. This is a new discussion forum aimed at shaping a common vision of agriculture in the EU. It is attended by 29 stakeholders. The strategic dialogue is intended to shape a common vision for the future of EU agriculture and the food system. It brings together stakeholders of the entire agri-food chain: farmers, agri-food enterprises, cooperatives, rural communities, NGOs, civil society representatives, financial institutions and academia.

The role and purpose of dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU

Working out a common agricultural and food system for the future is the primary goal of the dialogue. As the European Commission points out, it is an opportunity to hear opinions, information on prospects, ambitions, concerns and proposed solutions submitted by farmers and all key stakeholders along the agri-food chain. The dialogue provides a platform for finding common solutions for the future of the EU agri-food sector. Among other things, it is intended to allow a compromise between the need to maintain the competitiveness of EU agriculture and the application of solutions to achieve the policy goals of the European Green Deal.

Among other things, the dialogue will attempt to answer the following questions:

• How can we provide our farmers and the rural communities where they live with a better perspective, including a decent standard of living?
• How can we support agriculture within the limits of our planet and its ecosystem?
• How can we better take advantage of the tremendous opportunities offered by knowledge and technological innovation?
• How can we promote a bright and prosperous future for the European food system in a competitive world?

Work in dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU

Among other things, the work of the dialogue is carried out in plenary sessions. On June 20-21, 2024. has its fourth plenary meeting, while the next is scheduled for July 9-10, 2024.

In addition to plenary and working group discussions, targeted consultations were launched as part of the strategic dialogue. A list of the organizations that were asked for their opinions can be found on the European Commission’s website. According to the approved schedule, in the summer of 2024. is to produce a report on the findings of the dialogue.

Is the main purpose of the dialogue to contribute to the future CAP?

In her State of the Union 2023 address, President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission will initiate a strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU.

The purpose of the strategic dialogue, according to a release from the European Commission, is to consider all aspects of agriculture and food production policies in order to better understand current and potential future challenges. The strategic dialogue is intended to enable a concrete and focused discussion to find common ground for the future of the EU agri-food sector.

Already, the European Commission has taken steps to identify administrative burdens and complexities arising from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the European Green Deal, as well as other food and agricultural regulations, both in terms of their national application and related recording and reporting obligations, with the ultimate goal of simplification.

The European Commission also conducted two studies:

• A survey on unfair trade practices, where farmers and all smaller suppliers throughout the food supply chain could share feedback on their experiences with unfair trade practices;
• Simplification survey to gather farmers’ opinions on simplifying certain regulations and procedures.