Ireland’s EU Presidency promises to put food security, farming and fisheries centre-stage. But will it use its moment to build a fairer food system – or simply defend the descent into a burning planet? Oliver Moore reports from Ireland.
On 1 July, Ireland takes over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For the next six months, Ireland will set the priorities while trying to play honest broker as Europe navigates heat waves, fertiliser crisis, budget realignments and more.
Ireland is a country with a politically influential farming sector, a powerful agri-food industry and an economy that exports the vast majority of its produce. In this context, the Irish presidency will have a delicate balancing act between the needs of its most profitable farmers and simply progressing legislation.
The Irish Government has promised to support farm and fishing families, protect incomes, strengthen competitiveness and balance the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability.
In practice this means keeping the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget high and directed towards “active farmers” (i.e. intensive meat and dairy farmers) and towards “food security” as defined by agri-food production reliant on fossil fuels, animal feeds and fertilisers.
It also will focus on progressing fisheries negotiations to support that beleaguered sector, having already secured a reduction in the reduction of the mackerel quota from 70% to 48% for 2026.
CAP in the common pot?
The immediate battle concerns the EU’s budget for 2028–2034 and the future CAP.
On 16th June, the Council backed plans to place CAP funding inside broader National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP). This bundling of CAP and regional, initially proposed by the Commission, sees the CAP budget cut by up to 20%.
The European Parliament however, on April 26th, pushed for a €197 billion larger, and more clearly ringfenced, farm budget.
This latter position is much more in line with the Irish government’s concerns on the CAP budget. This will be awkward and delicate for Irish officials and ministers over the six months.
Food security: for whom?
At what was in effect the agri and fisheries launch on the EU presidency on 17 June, dozens of lobbyists put their cases to the Ministers present.
Along with the usual pushes from the large farming organisations, participants raised installation aid for young farmers (MACRA – the young farmers organisation), recognition and resourcing for local food producers (Talamh Beo – the Irish chapter of Via Campesina), and support for marginalised farmers (INHFA – the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association).
These were all especially valid asks as Ireland is the only EU member State that does not provide installation aid for its new entrants; Ireland has no targets for domestic food production and vanishingly few horticulturalists left. Notions of ‘active farmers’ being pushed by the big farming organisations and hinted at in the Commission’s CAP proposal would essentially cut many part-time but busy farmers in Ireland’s Border, Midlands and West regions (hill farmers and others in high nature value areas) out of basic income payments.
This author was at this meeting and was not especially inspired by the replies from Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Martin Heydon, which somehow focused on weight loss drugs and opportunities for protein suppliers to US markets, while plámásing the young and hill farmers (plámás is an Irish language word for sweet-talk, ingratiating chatter, or empty flattery).
The livestock in the room
Fertilisers, protein and livestock will be front and centre during the presidency, with an EU livestock strategy due to land shortly after Ireland takes over, likely on the 7th July.
Leaked elements of the strategy suggest that the Commission wants to break away from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) approach to methane, as the latter’s methodologies “do not capture all the intricacies of diverse production systems”. Instead more “refined” farm-level emissions measurements may be needed.
Meanwhile, the Commission is fast tracking over €500 million of fertiliser aid as global supplies remain stressed – and as agri-food remains dependent on climate-busting 3 F’s (feed, fuel and fertiliser) as we have pointed out before (more than once) on ARC2020.
Simplification – simply maladministration
There are no indications Ireland will take the foot off the simplification/deregulation pedal. In a June meeting with Jessika Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Minister Heydon pointed to the “very significant undertaking” it is to simply provide an environmental assessment for the nitrates derogation. He also focussed on the “stress-test” of the Birds and Habitats Directives.
It’s not simple for the EU to make an exception for Ireland on nitrogen pollution – it adds complexity (see last week’s joint letter to the EU Commission calling for a halt to further weakening of the Nitrates Directive). But it’s apparently also not simple to provide an impact assessment. Perhaps it’s the stubborn pollution levels in the south and east of Ireland, where most derogation farmers are.
This author also met with Commissioner Roswall during her visit, and reminded her that the European Ombudsman has already found “maladministration” in how the Commission prepared Omnibuses. In particular, the notion of “urgency” was undefined and frankly unacceptably vague for such rushed, regressive legislative behaviour.
She also plámásed me, emphasising that they listened and were adapting. However on 22nd June the Ombudsman was still not happy, remaining unconvinced at still vague assurances and a lack of practical evidence of change. Anything can be deemed “urgent” with the Commission’s say-so, it seems.
An honest broker or honestly still breaking it
Ireland’s presidency will coincide with a time when climate extremes, imperialist, extractive wars and hyper dependency on the 3 F’s increasingly shape the EU.
For all the talk of food security, the nation has fewer than 80 commercial horticulturalists left, with another 300 or so smaller scale ones languishing without recognition or resourcing.
And this in essence sums up the directionality of the EU right now. Minister Heydon will lead the charge, “urgently” sailing further into the heat of Hades, with new notions of livestock’s climate impact onboard, while decades of environmental, protective legislation are “stress-tested” and jettisoned in the descent, with, all the while, fuel thrown onto the fire through the chaos of Trump’s tariffs, global rollbacks, and wars.
Meanwhile, we the people are tossed from drought to flood, from bail out to burning temperatures.
A more resilient, more self-reliant, more circular and beautiful Europe is possible. Against all the odds, people build this up and out every day. It remains to be seen what Ireland’s presidency will do to make this happen.
Have thoughts to share on this topic? Join the discussion on LinkedIn!
More
What’s Food Sovereignty got to do with it? The New Geopolitics of Food
Leaked Livestock Strategy Bets on Technofixes & Pulls From Industry Playbook
CAP | EU Watchdog Gears Up To Fight For Fairness in Future Farming Policy
How Iran war exposes Europe’s dangerous dependency on fertilisers
The Year of the CAP & Big Budget Overhaul – Key EU Policy Moments to Watch in 2026
Hungry for Democracy? Here’s a flavour of France’s local solutions for food sovereignty
The EU just opened its doors to new GMOs – but you won’t know if they’re on your plate
Sitting with our contradictions – Learning to reconnect with nature and find peace as humans
Germany | Legal win for a collective land purchase makes a couple’s farming dream come true
A Revolution in Europe’s Public Plate? The future of food policy is delicious
