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União Europeia precisa de soluções duradouras de fertilizantes para evitar falta de alimentos
O comissário para a Agricultura e Alimentação alertou que, para evitar escassez alimentar com a subida do custo dos fertilizantes, o bloco tem de garantir fornecimentos sustentáveis e não só apoio financeiro de curto prazo
LEIA MAIS : http://pt.euronews.com/2026/06/10/uniao-europeia-precisa-de-solucoes-duradouras-de-fertilizantes-para-evitar-falta-de-alimen
Subscreva, euronews está disponível em 12 línguas.
O comissário para a Agricultura e Alimentação alertou que, para evitar escassez alimentar com a subida do custo dos fertilizantes, o bloco tem de garantir fornecimentos sustentáveis e não só apoio financeiro de curto prazo
LEIA MAIS : http://pt.euronews.com/2026/06/10/uniao-europeia-precisa-de-solucoes-duradouras-de-fertilizantes-para-evitar-falta-de-alimen
Subscreva, euronews está disponível em 12 línguas.
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NotíciasTranscrição
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, but I think as well the farmers understand very well
01:00that 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, to become more
01:21sustainable with a support,
01:23financial support, but as well technical support.
01:26So 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.
03:06And 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.
03:31What are the solutions?
03:32Well, 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 percent from 2020 to 2024.
03:50And 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, the 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 percent 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, money that can
04:41be 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,
04:55because 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.
05:04And 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.
05:18On 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 because 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, but as well affordable,
05:54because 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.
06:04And 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, this will be less
06:30expensive 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, because not everything that we use in the fertilizers is actually available.
06:52and 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 have, 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.
07:14Yeah, indeed.
07:15Now, some fertilizers are environmentally controversial.
07:18Is it fair to ask European farmers to meet strict environmental requirements while importing food from countries that don't?
07:29Well, I think we have the highest standards in the European Union worldwide.
07:34There may be some other third countries that are on the same level.
07:37But, 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 that are not allowed in the European Union to zero when it comes to imports
08:13in order to align this production.
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 because when I speak to different farming organizations,
08:40depending on the sector, some 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 where it's very difficult to
09:08say 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 break 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 controls at our ports, at our airports, where the products
09:36come 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?
09:46Well, 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, because consumers are eventually willing
10:08to pay a few cents more if it is a European product, especially when it comes, for example, to processed
10:14food.
10:15And I think that is in line as well with the Buy European Food Campaign that the Commission President von
10:21der Leyen presented last year.
10:22Therefore, we need now as well to implement this, make the information to the consumer available to benefit as well
10:30more 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, because we have
10:44we serve around eight million meals in our canteens, in the schools or in hospitals, etc.
10:49This has a huge potential leverage to better reward the higher standard foods that we produce in the European Union
10:58to 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 and help our
11:07farmers to have the proper income they deserve.
11:10So, at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, you spoke at an event, War of Nutrition, Resilience Against Food
11:20Weaponization.
11:21How can we prevent food from becoming a weapon in war?
11:26Well, of course, I think it's very important that we become aware about the origin of our common agriculture policy,
11:35because in the 1950s, 60s, Europe was not necessarily a continent where we were self-sufficient in food production.
11:43And that is why we had to encourage food production that came at the price.
11:47But this price, again, was lower than to be dependent, lower than to be starving and lower than to have
11:53the political instability that we see in many countries in the world due to insufficient food available.
12:00So, 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 or unstable partners that eventually produce a
12:21little bit less expensive than we do.
12:23But nonetheless, we see these dependencies in many other sectors when it comes to semiconductors, when it comes to medical
12:30products and to energy as well.
12:33That makes us vulnerable.
12:35And I think for these vulnerabilities, we need really to tackle them in order not to be able to be
12:42blackmailed.
12:43And that is something that currently happens with food.
12:46There is food diplomacy.
12:47There is fertilizer diplomacy or warfare.
12:51You can call it as you want.
12:52But this is happening right now.
12:53And we need to step up.
12:54Should food security take priority over environmental targets when the two come into conflict?
13:02I think they can work hand in hand and they have to work hand in hand because otherwise, again, we
13:07would compromise the future of food security.
13:11So, that is something we can, 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, but 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.
13:44And I'm very grateful for that.
13:45And we had indeed, during the autonomous trade measures, the 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 with 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 of European production by 2028,
14:21when it comes to the use of plant protection products, when it comes to animal welfare.
14:25And if the Ukrainian side will not be able to get there, then we have as well the possibility to
14:32interrupt this agreement.
14:33So, I think we have now a stable situation that has been, that before this stable situation had been, caused
14:41turbulences.
14:42But now, of course, what we absorb is absorbable as well.
14:46It's products that we need anyhow.
14:47What is important is that we help the Ukrainians as well to permanently get to their historic markets as well.
14:54This has been hugely interrupted.
14:56Yeah.
14:57So, how do you balance supporting Ukraine with protecting your 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, as 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 does not mean it is low because there is
15:30more 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 a 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 to bring up their added
15:58value.
15:58And I think we have a lot to win when we speak, for example, about protein plants, where we are
16:05currently not self-sufficient.
16:07And, therefore, I don't see the interest of exporting raw grain without a lot of added value,
16:13while we can use these products even better and more efficient and better rewarding domestically.
16:20So, I think that is something we will be looking as well in our protein action plan that we are
16:25working on.
16:25On 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 a large chunk of that budget, roughly one-third.
16:45So, my question is, why should taxpayers continue spending billions of euros on 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 to 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 compared to other economies in the world.
17:13So, I think there we have to be very clear that it's not about shares, but eventually that we are
17:19contributing sufficiently to a new EU budget.
17:21I think for this global crisis that we are facing, it's not less Europe or to be frugal that will
17:28solve 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, higher standards, the highest standards in the
17:44world to 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 to another, for example, or
18:01reduce their emissions, they 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, because the farmers are not rich men and women,
18:25because when we see their salary, it's around 65 percent of the EU average salary.
18:31So they are well below.
18:33And that is why it is so important to support the community in order to continue to produce and not
18:38be dependent on Russia or China or 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 multi-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 into water infrastructure, there will be no production, not agriculture
19:31and not tourism economy.
19:34And I think that we need really to stop a little bit just looking at the short term and having
19:40as 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.
19:50Christoph Hansen, EU Agriculture Commissioner.
19:52Thank you so much for coming on the show today.
19:54Thank you as well.
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