- 2 days ago
Long-term fertiliser solutions needed to avoid EU food shortages, EU Agriculture Commissioner says
The Agriculture and Food Commissioner warned that, to avoid looming food shortages in the face of rising fertiliser costs, the bloc must secure sustainable fertiliser supplies and not just provide short-term financial support.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/10/long-term-fertiliser-solutions-needed-to-avoid-eu-food-shortages-eu-agriculture-commission
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The Agriculture and Food Commissioner warned that, to avoid looming food shortages in the face of rising fertiliser costs, the bloc must secure sustainable fertiliser supplies and not just provide short-term financial support.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/10/long-term-fertiliser-solutions-needed-to-avoid-eu-food-shortages-eu-agriculture-commission
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:07Hello and welcome to the Europe Conversation. I'm Stefan Grobe.
00:11My guest today is EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christoph Hansen,
00:16whose passion for his portfolio sort of runs in the family.
00:20He's the son of a farmer and the Agriculture Minister of Luxembourg is his cousin.
00:25He previously served as environmental advisor to the permanent representation of Luxembourg to the EU
00:31and to the Luxembourgish EU presidency before becoming an MEP and then later Commissioner.
00:37Commissioner Hansen, thank you so much for joining me. Great to have you here.
00:41I'm glad to be with you, Stefan.
00:43When farming and environmental interests clash, which happens occasionally in Brussels,
00:50you understand both arguments very well. Does that make your life easier?
00:55Well, I would say it makes my life easier, yes.
00:57But I think as well the farmers understand very well that they cannot produce without a healthy environment.
01:03They need good quality water, good quality soils, sufficient water as well.
01:07They are as well the first victims of climate change.
01:10So the farmers in principle have all interest to work together hand in hand with the nature, with the environment.
01:15And that is sometimes where we need to help them in order to come to that way,
01:20to become more sustainable with a support, financial support, but as well technical support.
01:25So I think this goes really hand in hand.
01:28We have climate and environment objectives and our farmers are the best tool to achieve them as well.
01:32And I think that is something where we need to find solutions in dialogue with the farmers and not against
01:38the farmers.
01:38And that is why we have set up as well several foa, like the European Board on Agriculture and Food,
01:43to solve these kind of problems and eventually differences that there could arise.
01:48Time and again, farmers across Europe have protested against Brussels, against EU policy.
01:54What would you say, what was the single biggest mistake the EU made in dealing with farmers?
02:01Well, first of all, against Brussels, that's always difficult to define what Brussels is,
02:05because as well here in Brussels are the ministers coming together in the council
02:10and as well the members of the European Parliament, which all come from European countries.
02:14So it's a co-decision process.
02:17And sometimes member states have as well the tendency to over implement certain legislation coming from the European level.
02:23So I would be a little bit more careful on blaming Brussels because there are many people from the capitals
02:29there.
02:30As well, the biggest mistake, I think, was eventually, and I say it now,
02:34the dialogue with the farming community and the environmental community is something you need to take a life.
02:40You need as well to take out of that the permanent confrontation and find for common solutions,
02:46because I think the objectives, everybody understands them on both sides.
02:50And now the problem is, of course, how do we get there?
02:54And there again, I think everybody needs to make some compromises.
02:57And this dialogue is something that I put on very highly on my agenda.
03:01I traveled as well to the 27 member states in the first year of my mandate.
03:05And I think that is bringing a certain change.
03:08So this lack, eventually, of communication with the base, in the ground, in the rural areas,
03:14that was maybe a little bit too much distance.
03:17And I tried to remedy to that.
03:19The war in Iran is adding new pressures on the agriculture community, the agriculture industry,
03:27particularly with rising fertilizer costs.
03:30What are the solutions?
03:33Well, of course, we have to say that the fertilizer crisis had already started way before the Middle East crisis,
03:39because we had as well seen, due to the energy crisis that we had in the beginning of the 2020s,
03:46fertilizer prices had gone up by 60% from 2020 to 2024.
03:51And that is why we were already planning this fertilizer action plan,
03:55which, of course, we have now to adapt a little bit, because the problem is a longstanding problem.
04:01We are over-dependent on energy imported from outside the European Union.
04:06And when we speak fertilizers, the main ingredient in the end of our fertilizers,
04:10the chemical fertilizers, is energy.
04:12So this is, of course, a longstanding problem.
04:14At the same time, we have as well imports from fertilizers.
04:18Around 40 to 45% of our fertilizers are imported from third countries.
04:22And that makes us quite vulnerable to have this dependency.
04:25And that is why we now adapted this fertilizer action plan.
04:29We proposed it on the 19th of May, and which will bring as well short-term solutions in the form
04:35of financial aid.
04:36So we will put on the table more than half a billion euros to help farmers immediately.
04:40Money that can be topped up by the member states.
04:43So we have the short-term financial support.
04:46But we're looking as well into solutions in the medium term to make a better use of our available organic
04:55fertilizers,
04:55fertilizers, because we are underusing this potential nutrient recycling, precision farming.
05:00So there is a lot to win on efficiency as well and better nutrient use.
05:05And then, of course, we need as well to strengthen in a certain form our industry to remain a producer
05:12on the European soil.
05:13And there, I think we need as well to do these steps together with the industry.
05:17On this fertilizer action plan, what is its main message to put farmers at ease?
05:26The main message is we have your back for the next sowing season, because a lot of farmers are considering
05:33not to produce,
05:36because it's just too expensive and they can't pass on the costs.
05:39And that is why they need the immediate financial release, which we have now put on the table.
05:44And, of course, in the meanwhile, we need to do our homework as well and address the issues in order
05:51to make fertilizers not only available,
05:53but as well affordable, because otherwise there will be food shortages in the European Union, but also in the world.
06:00And that will have a direct impact on the prices for the consumers.
06:03And I think that is what we need to consider.
06:06We should, these crises, we are not in the first fertilizer crisis.
06:12We have now two consecutive ones, very important.
06:15And this will come back if we are not ensuring a more stable and more reliable production cycle and availability.
06:23And that is why we need to act now.
06:25That might cost some money in the first place, but in the medium and long term,
06:29this will be less expensive than be over-dependent.
06:32And that is exactly the essence as well from a common agriculture policy.
06:36Fertilizers are an important part of very vulnerable supply chains.
06:41How do we secure them for the future?
06:44Then we need, of course, reliable partnerships,
06:47because not everything that we use in the fertilizers is actually available and produced in the European Union.
06:54So this is why this domestic and international partnership is of such utmost importance.
07:02And that is why we had, by the way, as well, a meeting of the G7 agriculture minister to discuss
07:08this.
07:09The problem is not only European, it's a global problem.
07:12And there the cooperation will be key.
07:13Yeah, indeed.
07:15Now, some fertilizers are environmentally controversial.
07:19Is it fair to ask European farmers to meet strict environmental requirements
07:24while importing food from countries that don't?
07:28Well, I think we have the highest standards in the European Union worldwide.
07:33There may be some other third countries that are on the same level.
07:36But, of course, to ask more from our farmers comes as well at the price again.
07:42And I think we need as well to not be hypocrite.
07:45If we impose this to our farmers, we need as well to at least expect the same criteria when products
07:52are coming in.
07:52And I think we have some recent examples that show very clearly our system works.
07:57Certain products are not allowed into the European Union.
08:00We have as well recently proposed the so-called food and feed omnibus where we put the maximum residue levels
08:07of certain plant protection products
08:09that are not allowed in the European Union to zero when it comes to imports in order to align this
08:15production.
08:15And I think this is something very key to say.
08:18Our food security as well when it comes to the standards is not up for discussion, is not up for
08:24negotiation.
08:25If the Mercosur Agreement comes into force, can you guarantee it won't hurt European farmers?
08:31Well, I think we have to be very careful not to generalize.
08:37Because when I speak to different farming organizations, depending on the sector,
08:42some are asking me, we have to do this agreement.
08:44We need to export our production.
08:46Otherwise, we will have to close back here.
08:50I think that is something we don't want.
08:51We have a crisis in the dairy sector.
08:54Currently, we have a crisis in the wines and spirit sectors.
08:57And these products need to be sold somewhere.
08:59Otherwise, either our farmers just become bankrupt or we have to intervene financially with money.
09:06That's very difficult to say where it should come from.
09:09So these markets are our offensive sectors.
09:12And for the defensive sectors like beef, like poultry, we have carefully negotiated tariff rate quotas.
09:19We have like an emergency brake to stop the imports.
09:23And I think that is a security we have never had before.
09:25But of course, as well on the production standards, I think we need to do our homework.
09:31And especially in the member states, when it comes to the controls at our ports, at our airports,
09:35where the products come in, that these controls and checks are done.
09:39So are European consumers willing to pay more for European standards?
09:43Or is that a political assumption?
09:45Well, it depends on the consumers, of course.
09:49There are a lot of consumers that just go for the cheapest option.
09:52But I think we need to put more on the dance floor, let's say, our European products as well.
10:00And I believe it's very important that when it's European, that this is more visible,
10:04because consumers are eventually willing to pay a few cents more if it is a European product,
10:11especially when it comes, for example, to processed food.
10:15And I think that is in line as well with the Buy European Food Campaign
10:18that the Commission President von der Leyen presented last year.
10:23Therefore, we need now as well to implement this,
10:26make the information to the consumer available,
10:29to benefit as well more from the domestic market.
10:33And these are the next steps to do.
10:34Also, I think public procurement has a big role to play.
10:38And that is something where we are working currently as well on to include as well food,
10:43because we have, we serve around 8 million meals in our canteens,
10:47in the schools or in hospitals, etc.
10:49This has a huge potential, a leverage to better reward the higher standard foods
10:57that we produce in the European Union to as well reward better the regional products.
11:02And I think that is a way we need to explore as well to be more resilient
11:06and help our farmers to have the proper income they deserve.
11:11So at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year,
11:15you spoke at an event, War of Nutrition, Resilience Against Food Weaponization.
11:21How can we prevent food from becoming a weapon in war?
11:27Well, of course, I think it's very important that we become aware
11:31about the origin of our common agriculture policy.
11:35Because in the 1950s, 60s, Europe was not necessarily a continent
11:41where we were self-sufficient in food production.
11:43That is why we had to encourage food production.
11:46That came at a price, but this price, again, was lower than to be dependent,
11:51lower than to be starving, and lower than to have the political instability
11:55that we see in many countries in the world due to insufficient food available.
12:01So I think that is important to remember us.
12:04And this is something we need, you and me, two to three times a day.
12:08We need a proper food in order to be in good shape, to be healthy.
12:13And that is something that should not be at the mercy of imports
12:18or unstable partners that eventually produce a little bit less expensive than we do.
12:24But nonetheless, we see these dependencies in many other sectors
12:27when it comes to semiconductors, when it comes to medical products,
12:31and to energy as well.
12:33That makes us vulnerable, and I think for these vulnerabilities,
12:38we need really to tackle them in order not to be able to be blackmailed.
12:43And that is something that currently happens with food.
12:46There is food diplomacy.
12:47There is fertilizer diplomacy or warfare.
12:50You can call it as you want, but this is happening right now,
12:53and we need to step up.
12:54Should food security take priority over environmental targets
12:59when the two come into conflict?
13:02I think they can work hand-in-hand, and they have to work hand-in-hand,
13:06because otherwise, again, we would compromise the future of food security.
13:11So that is something you cannot have one or the other.
13:14It's not black and white.
13:16It needs to go together.
13:17Okay.
13:17Now, it's not only the Iran war that is affecting EU farming,
13:22but also the war in Ukraine.
13:25Now, the EU has opened its market to Ukrainian agricultural products.
13:29Have some European farmers paid the price for European solidarity with Ukraine?
13:36The European farmers have shown a huge example of solidarity with Ukraine.
13:40I think that has to be said very clearly, and I'm very grateful for that.
13:45And we had, indeed, during the autonomous trade measures,
13:48the first reaction, a liberalization of trade.
13:51There were, especially in some bordering countries, a huge impact on the farming sector,
13:56and I can really understand that this was an unsustainable situation for them.
14:01But meanwhile, we have updated the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement
14:06with a carefully balanced tariff rate quota,
14:10so we have controls about what and how much comes in.
14:13And as well, these concessions have been bound very clearly to meeting the standards
14:18of the European production by 2028 when it comes to the use of plant protection products,
14:24when it comes to animal welfare.
14:25And if the Ukrainian side will not be able to get there,
14:29then we have as well the possibility to interrupt this agreement.
14:33So I think we have now a stable situation that has been,
14:37that before this stable situation had been caused turbulences.
14:42But now, of course, what we absorb is absorbable as well.
14:46It's products that we need anyhow.
14:48What is important is that we help the Ukrainians as well
14:51to permanently get to their historic markets as well.
14:54This has been hugely interrupted.
14:56Yeah. So how do you balance supporting Ukraine
15:00with protecting EU farming interests in frontline states?
15:07I guess this is a challenge the more the war goes on.
15:11I've travelled as well to the first line countries,
15:17as you call them, the neighbouring countries of Ukraine.
15:19And there is a lot of evidence that needs to be put in light as well.
15:24Because just because the price of cereals is, for example, low,
15:28does not mean it is low because there is more imports from Ukraine.
15:32Because as I said, this is now well calibrated.
15:34But again, we have a global, very, had a good harvest last year, for example.
15:39And this has led to a global price for wheat that was 170, 180 US ton.
15:45But this is not the fault of Ukraine.
15:47It's, of course, the result of a global good harvest.
15:51And I think there we need as well to find other solutions for our farmers
15:55to bring up their added value.
15:59And I think we have a lot to win when we speak, for example,
16:02about protein plants, where we are currently not self-sufficient.
16:07And therefore, I don't see the interest of exporting raw grain
16:11without a lot of added value,
16:13while we can use these products even better and more efficient
16:17and better rewarding domestically.
16:20So I think that is something we will be looking as well
16:22in our protein action plan that we are working on.
16:26On another topic, the debate over the next EU long-term budget is ongoing.
16:31EU leaders aim to reach an agreement by the end of the year.
16:35And it is clear already that agriculture is going to represent
16:40a large chunk of that budget, roughly one third.
16:45So my question is, why should taxpayers continue spending billions of euros
16:50on agricultural subsidies?
16:52Well, if we get to one third of that budget, I would be very glad.
16:56So I hope you are right on that.
16:57But it will, of course, depend on the willingness of the member states
17:00to go into that direction.
17:02And it's not about speaking about this share.
17:04But, of course, the EU budget on its own is not very big
17:09compared to other economies in the world.
17:13So I think there we have to be very clear that it's not about shares,
17:17but eventually that we are contributing sufficiently to a new EU budget.
17:21I think for this global crisis that we are facing, it's not less Europe
17:25or to be frugal that will solve the problem.
17:29I think we have to step up our efforts to be bolder.
17:32And I think that is something that's a first remark I would make.
17:37The second one, of course, as I said earlier, we impose high standards,
17:41higher standards, the highest standards in the world,
17:44to our farming and food producing community.
17:47This comes with a price.
17:48I think we have to be very clear.
17:50And this price needs as well then to be compensated if the markets don't do.
17:54Because, as I said earlier, a farmer, when they have to switch from one technology
17:59to another, for example, or reduce their emissions,
18:02they cannot hand over the price so easily because they are competing.
18:06We are not living on an island, fortunately, I would say.
18:09And that is why these high standards come at a cost.
18:13This food sovereignty comes at a cost.
18:15The preservation of our cultural landscapes comes at a cost.
18:19And that is not just for the benefit of the farmer,
18:22because the farmers are not rich men and women,
18:25because when we see their salary, it's around 65% of the EU average salary.
18:31So they are well below, and that is why it is so important to support the community
18:35in order to continue to produce and not be dependent on Russia or China
18:40or who else when it comes to food production.
18:43One quick one.
18:44What is your biggest concern for European farming for the next decade?
18:49Is it climate change?
18:51Is it global competition?
18:53Or is it demographics?
18:55I would say it's demographics, because this has a huge impact, of course.
19:02It's as well, of course, the others are not negligible,
19:07so it's difficult to choose climate change.
19:09We need to adapt to it.
19:11And I think, again, we need as well to invest into this adaption.
19:15And I think, for example, as well, when you speak about the future
19:20multi-annual financial framework, the future budget,
19:22there is as well a competitiveness fund.
19:24And I think in some regions, for example, without investment
19:27into water infrastructure, there will be no production,
19:30not agriculture and not tourism economy.
19:34And I think there we need really to stop a little bit,
19:38just looking at the short term and having as well more long-term perspectives.
19:42That makes us quite weak if we don't have the long-term perspectives,
19:46but probably this is as well linked to the political cycles.
19:49All right. Christoph Hansen, EU Agriculture Commissioner,
19:52thank you so much for coming on the show today.
19:54Thank you as well.
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