Sector & service specialists

2024 was the year farmers really took to the streets of Brussels, and 2025 looks set to be another tumultuous time for the agricultural sector.

Agriculture has always been at the heart of European politics and initially, the EU budget used to fund mainly agriculture.  In the EU almost 50% of the territory is covered by farmland (both arable land and permanent grassland). Agriculture therefore plays a key role in land management and has a huge responsibility in the preservation of natural resources.   Agriculture and food related industries and services provide over 44 million jobs in the EU, including regular work for 20 million people within the agricultural sector itself. EU agricultural policy covers a wide range of areas, including food quality, traceability, trade and promotion of EU farm products.

The Agribusiness sector includes agrichemicals, breeding, crop production, distribution, farm machinery, processing, and seed supply, as well as marketing and retail sales.  EU regulation has had a major impact on these businesses, notably in the crop protection/agrichemicals field in recent years.

The EU is undertaking substantial reforms to its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has a budget of €387 billion. The focus is shifting towards supporting small-scale and young farmers, moving away from the traditional model where 80% of subsidies benefited the wealthiest 20% of agribusinesses. The proposed reforms aim to cut bureaucracy, redistribute subsidies more fairly, and ensure that imported food products comply with EU standards on pesticides and animal welfare.

Trade with third countries has become a major issue for the Agriculture & Agribusiness sector.  Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a country known as the ‘breadbasket of Europe’, has caused a global food crisis, further exacerbating existing food security challenges worldwide.  Trade agreements, such as the EU-Mercosur deal, have sparked concerns among EU farmers. They argue that imported agricultural products from South America may not meet European standards, potentially leading to unfair competition.