Do not sell out European agriculture!
On the 9th of July, Farm Europe signed the declaration proposed by Polish Farmers organisations calling for a strong, autonomous CAP budget, rejecting Mercosur in its current form, calling for full reciprocity, asking for reinforced market management, risk management and safety nets, and reminding the European Commission that food security and agricultural strategic autonomy are not negotiable.
You will find below the full text of the declaration.
Warsaw, 9th of July 2025
We, the representatives of European farmers’ and food producers’ organizations, gathered in Warsaw, express our deepest concern and firm opposition to policy initiatives that threaten the foundations of European agriculture: agricultural strategic autonomy for food and non-food needs, consumer safety, fair competition, and the protection of the environment and climate.
We oppose the dismantling of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as a strong, ambitious policy with a dedicated budget adequate to the challenges.
We oppose the entry into force of the trade agreement between the European Union and the MERCOSUR countries in its current form.
We oppose any actions that endanger the future of European agriculture and hence Europe’s security.
1. The collapse of the CAP is the collapse of a united Europe
The European Commission’s plan to merge the CAP budget into a single pool with other policies is an attack on the independence and autonomy of agricultural policy and threatens its perennity.
It undermines the principle of predictable and harmonized support for farmers across the Union and risks subordinating agriculture to priorities unrelated to food security.
Including the CAP in a single fund where access to funds is conditional to “milestones” means taking the risk that agriculture will pay for other sectors and policies that do not achieve their objectives. Once again agriculture, despite its strategic importance in those unstable geopolitical times, will be the collateral damage to issues not related to it.
2- Vital access to means of production
The upcoming CAP proposal should prioritize access to effective and affordable production tools and techniques, including Plant Production Products (PPPs), crop varieties developed with NGTs, precision farming, and digitalization. It is crucial to avoid banning essential production inputs when no viable alternatives exist. Investing in research and development is key.
Additionally, the proposal should support climate change adaptation through pragmatic environmental policies. This includes rewarding environmentally friendly and low-carbon practices, supporting technical progress, reducing climate-related risks, and minimizing administrative burdens.
3. Without domestic production, no food security
The increasing reliance on agricultural imports, at the expense of domestic production, poses significant risks, particularly in the context of an uncertain geopolitical context and ongoing global military conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine. This shift could weaken European agriculture and disrupt established supply chains, leading to greater global instability. This contrasts sharply with the strategies adopted by other global players who are prioritizing the strengthening of their own domestic agricultural sectors.
Reducing emphasis on domestic food production risks overlooking the importance of self-sufficiency and resilience in food supply. To address these challenges, it is crucial to tackle and reduce threats to European sovereignty in the production of key agricultural commodities such as crops, milk, meat, sugar, etc…
This includes supporting Europe’s ambitions to develop its bioeconomy and ensuring that policies promote rather than hinder the diversification of domestic agricultural outputs, including for example bioenergy and bio-based products.
4. Unfair competition is destructive
The EU–MERCOSUR agreement would mean unfair competition for European farmers, who are subject to stringent environmental, phytosanitary, animal welfare, and animal health regulations.
It is crucial to review and redefine a coherent European trade policy and recognize the strategic dimension of food production, in a trade order that has drastically changed, moving away from rules-based.
This involves moving towards defining complementary trade measures, such as “mirror measures” to ensure that imported products comply with production standards that meet European requirements and to take into account and avoid cumulative impacts of different trade agreement which put some sensitive sectors under significant pressure.
5. Urgent need for coherence and consistency in trade and environmental policies
The European Commission cannot demand increasingly strict environmental standards from its own farmers while accepting food imports that do not adhere to the same rigorous standards. This discrepancy is particularly evident in cases where imported food products are associated with practices that contribute to the destruction of the natural rainforest, the displacement of indigenous populations, the degradation of ecosystems, forced labour…
We are not afraid of competition. We simply ask for fair competition based on equal rules with full reciprocity, strong control, and certification rules, which is currently far from being the case.
6. Rural areas in danger
The ongoing willingness of the Commission to liberalize by chasing after new trade deals will lead to increase unprofitability in farming, impact the viability of numerous small and medium-sized farms, leading to more factories closures, further depopulation of rural areas, and the gradual disintegration of the social fabric of the countryside.
7. Broken trust, farmers feel betrayed
The mass farmer protests in 2023 and 2024 led to the European Commission reconsidering some of the more extreme proposals of the Green Deal. However, shortly after the European elections, farmers are facing again dangerous policies such as the promotion of agreements like the MERCOSUR deal or the potential weakening of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which could introduce additional burdens.
This approach does not align with the promised dialogue and cooperation. Instead, it risks being perceived as an imposition, particularly when it comes to policies that could increase competition among EU farmers rather than fostering sustainable growth in Europe.
Our demands
We, the undersigned organizations:
- Demand the preservation of the Common Agricultural Policy as a fully autonomous cornerstone of the European Union with a separate dedicated two pillars budget adequate to the challenges;
- Demand that EU institutions reinforce market management with appropriately functioning and adequately financed risk management tools and safety nets; Demand the immediate suspension of the ratification process of the EU–MERCOSUR agreement in its current form and concrete coherent measures to protect European farmers;
- Expect fair rules of international trade based on full reciprocity, equal production standards, and environmental protection with credible control measures;
- Remind the European Commission that food security and agricultural strategic autonomy are not negotiable
Undermining farmers is undermining Europe.
This is not a protest – it is a call for reason.
We defend European farmers, consumers, the environment, and our shared European future.
Our voice cannot be ignored.
Signed:
Farmers’ organizations from across the European Union