Latest from Brussels Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

EU’s Simplification Saga Set to Continue Despite Legal Warnings

March 2, 2026 Natasha Foote

Lawyers have declared it unlawful. The EU’s watchdog has found maladministration. And yet it’s full steam ahead for the EU’s simplification train – or ‘omnibus’, to be more precise. As one simplification chapter closes, another opens. What is going on, and what does this mean going forward? Natasha Foote brings you the latest in the legal wrangle around the EU’s simplification saga. […]

The Year of the CAP & Big Budget Overhaul – Key EU Policy Moments to Watch in 2026

February 16, 2026 Natasha Foote

Welcome to the Year of the CAP — but just how “common” will the EU’s next agricultural policy be? Could pensioners be excluded from direct payments? And will farmers finally get a day off? Meanwhile EU leaders are freewheeling in the direction of free-trade deals. We may remember 2026 as the year the floodgates were opened to new genetic technologies. Plus the future of seeds is at stake, with upcoming trilogues that will make or break the proposed overhaul of the EU’s Seed Law. But first, there’s a battle looming over the budget. Natasha Foote reports on a decisive year ahead for EU policy. […]

Mercosur will make European farmers more vulnerable to international capital & commodities flows

January 19, 2026 Hannes Lorenzen

With the signing of the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement this weekend, a spectre of the past comes back to haunt Europe’s farmers. But there is still a political window to save their future. Op-ed by ARC2020 President Hannes Lorenzen, published in Le Monde on Saturday 17 January 2026. […]

What kind of fight makes sense in 2026?

January 13, 2026 Hannes Lorenzen

It’s easy to be overwhelmed. As we prepare to ride the wave of multiple crises, going into 2026 we are minding our mental health at ARC2020, and diving into this topic with rural actors and communities. A New Year’s message from ARC2020 president Hannes Lorenzen. […]

What hope on the horizon? From Farm to Fork to a grand bargain in 2026

December 19, 2025 ARC

As the tractors roll back into the streets of Brussels and London, it feels an opportune moment to reflect on the state of food, farming and the environment across Europe, and to contemplate — at a time of division and anger — whether there might still be scope through deep listening and meaningful negotiation to strike a ‘grand bargain’ across Europe in which farmers and the environment both truly flourish. Op-ed by Edward Davey. […]

Op-Ed | Pesticide lobby use farmers’ protests as cover for slashing EU safety regulations

December 18, 2025 ARC

It’s getting increasingly harder for the pesticide lobby to argue against the science showing harm to people and ecosystems of its toxic products. ‘Luckily’ it has an ace up its sleeve: farmers’ frustrations/anger. Corporate lobby group Croplife Europe appears to be opportunistically planning to use farmers’ protests on the 18th of December in Brussels, in order to create political momentum to further slash EU safety rules for its products. Op-ed by Nina Holland of Corporate Europe Observatory. […]

EU Deal on GMO Deregulation: Hiding GMO Food While Claiming Patent Rights

December 16, 2025 Franziska Achterberg

On 4 December, EU negotiators reached an agreement to deregulate plants engineered with new genomic techniques. In this op-ed, Franziska Achterberg of Save Our Seeds argues that the deal dismantles key elements of EU GMO law for a broad category of genetically modified plants rebranded as “conventional-like” and granted patent rights. While the agreement still awaits final approval, Achterberg sets out why it should be rejected. […]

The Future of Seeds: The Power Play Between Patents and New GMOs

December 3, 2025 Natasha Foote

EU lawmakers have been locked in intense negotiations for months on loosening rules on the use of new genetic technologies in plant breeding. But talks are stalling on one particularly sticky issue. So why have patents become so central in this story, and what would it mean for farmers and breeders if lawmakers get their way on permitting patents? Natasha Foote digs in. […]

EU Budget: From Green Deal to Raw Deal for the Environment

November 11, 2025 Natasha Foote

Brussels is still sifting through the wreckage of the budget bombshell the European Commission dropped in July. As the dust settles, one question looms large: who wins, and who’s left behind? In this ARC2020 mini-series, we unpack the ripple effects — and collateral damage — of the EU’s radical budget proposal, this time diving into the potential environmental impact. […]

EU’s New Budget Plan Stuck in the Mud After Parliament Refuses to Plough Ahead

November 3, 2025 Natasha Foote

In a rare show of unity across political groups, the European Parliament has pushed back hard against the European Commission’s proposed blueprint for post-2027 EU funding structure, demanding a complete rethink of its plans to merge budget lines and pass power into the hands of member states. Natasha Foote reports. […]

Passing the Pitchfork – Inside the EU’s new plan to get young farmers in our fields

November 3, 2025 Ashley Parsons

The EU’s strategy for generational renewal, presented on Tuesday 21 October, lays out ambitious plans to double the share of young farmers in Europe by 2040. Here’s what it promises, what’s missing, and what civil society actors are saying. By Ashley Parsons, Louise Kelleher and Natasha Foote. […]

EU Budget: How Brussels’ New Plans Put Regions Out to Pasture

October 21, 2025 Natasha Foote

Brussels is still sifting through the wreckage of the budget bombshell the European Commission dropped in July. As the dust settles, one question looms large: who wins, and who’s left behind? In this ARC2020 mini-series, we unpack the ripple effects — and collateral damage — of the EU’s radical budget proposal, starting with the regions that risk being sidelined. […]

The Trojan Horse of Simplification

October 13, 2025 Natasha Foote

On the back of yet another green light for a fresh batch of ‘simplification’ plans, ARC2020’s Natasha Foote explores how deep this latest round cuts into the roots of the CAP and sustainability rules, and what is hiding inside this simplification Trojan horse. […]

A Not So Common Agricultural Policy and A Mega MF(F)ing Fund – What’s Cooking in the New CAP?

July 21, 2025 Natasha Foote

We promised a budgetary bombshell, and that’s exactly what dropped in Brussels last week. With a (not so) ‘Common’ Agricultural Policy, the Commission has juddered into a new direction — and if you’re wondering what in the MF(F)-ing hell just happened, you’re certainly not the only one. Here Natasha Foote unpacks some first takeaways and why it has so far gone down like a sack of manure. […]

LEAK: CAP Crumbles as EU Eyes Radical Post-2027 Overhaul

July 14, 2025 Natasha Foote

The European Commission is preparing to tear up the architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in what could set the stage for a radical overhaul of the EU’s farming subsidy programme, according to leaked drafts. Natasha Foote reports from Brussels. […]