European Competitiveness Fund: Agriculture and food security sidelined as defence spending takes centre stage

Farm Europe and Eat Europe call on the European Parliament to ensure that agriculture’s strategic importance is reflected in the European Competitiveness Fund’s budget.

Farm Europe and Eat Europe express their deep concern over the proposed limited resources allocated – and still under discussion – by the EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (Comitre) to agriculture and the agri-food sector under the proposed report on the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), warning that the current budgetary balance risks undermining the EU’s competitiveness, food security and strategic autonomy.

“Recognising agriculture as strategic on paper is not enough. Dedicated funding opportunities must be available across the relevant ECF priorities, enabling farmers and the wider agri-food and bioeconomy chains to invest in innovation, digital technologies, clean energy, sustainable water management, strategic storage and the infrastructure needed to withstand climate and geopolitical shocks,” said Yves Madre, President of Farm Europe.

While the European Competitiveness Fund is intended to strengthen Europe’s industrial capacity, resilience and global competitiveness, Some are working to limit agriculture’s access to this fund to just €3 billion in dedicated funding, with a further €5 billion allocated to the broader policy window covering “Health, Biotechnology, Agriculture and Sustainable Transition”. These amounts stand in stark contrast to the more than €60 billion earmarked for defence and related industrial priorities.

For Farm Europe and Eat Europe, this imbalance raises fundamental questions about the priorities underpinning Europe’s competitiveness agenda.

“It is unacceptable that, within a Fund designed to relaunch European competitiveness and identify the strategic priorities for the future, agriculture should be left with a mere €3 billion, while the broader policy window linking health, biotechnology, agriculture and sustainable transition receives just €5 billion. Even more concerning is the fact that the connection between agriculture, food and citizens’ health is being given such inadequate financial recognition,” commented Luigi Scordamaglia, President of Eat Europe. “We are disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised, given the stance already taken by the President of the European Commission.”

The organisations also point to the political signals emerging from the highest levels of the European institutions. In her State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen devoted substantial attention to defence and military priorities (32 explicit mentions), while agriculture and the fundamental relationship between food and citizens’ health received far less prominence.

Peace and security start with food. It must be measured in its ability to provide citizens with high-quality, safe and affordable food and the European Union with strong EU bioeconomy chain without which the concept of European sovereignty is meaningless.

An agricultural sector that is unable to invest in water resilience, strategic storage, digitalisation and innovation cannot deliver the level of resilience and strategic autonomy that Europe needs. Food security is not a secondary objective: it is a fundamental pillar of European security. EU sovereign bioeconomy is the pillar of tomorrow’s EU economic power.

Farm Europe and Eat Europe therefore call on the European Parliament, particularly within the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), to uphold the recommendations of the AGRI Committee and ensure that the final position on the European Competitiveness Fund reflects the true strategic importance of agriculture and food.

Europe cannot build lasting competitiveness, resilience or peace while underinvesting in the sector that feeds its citizens. Food security must be treated as a strategic investment in Europe’s future, not as a marginal budgetary concern.