Basecamp is Live!
Explore EU sustainability insights in one place. Sign up today
Explore EU sustainability insights in one place. Sign up today
Welcome to our monthly insights into all EU agri-food policy news – from legislation and debates to political deals and manoeuvring – directly from Brussels and with a focus on sustainability.
With the summer break nearing its end across much of Europe, EU agrifood policy remains firmly in motion. Recent months have seen a busy agenda in Brussels, led by the Commission’s first Livestock Strategy and accompanying Protein Action Plan. Together, the initiatives set out a roadmap for reducing agricultural emissions, strengthening food security, and supporting a livestock sector under pressure to adapt to future challenges, while stopping short of the politically sensitive issue of herd reductions.
There has also been movement on public procurement this month. A draft Public Procurement Act now circulating in Brussels proposes a major overhaul of how public money is spent. Yet one piece of the puzzle remains missing: the agriculture and food-specific provisions promised in the Vision for Agriculture and Food have not, at this stage, made it into the text.
On the regulatory front, the Commission has also finalised the EUDR delegated and implementing acts, narrowing and clarifying product scope while setting the technical rules for the new Information System that companies will rely on in order to comply.
Major EU developments in detail
The European Commission unveils its first EU-wide Livestock Strategy
The Commission has adopted its first EU Livestock Strategy, framing livestock as a strategic asset for food security, trade and rural communities while committing to cut emissions via more “refined” farm‑level metrics rather than explicit herd reductions. The strategy bundles priorities around crisis preparedness, competitiveness, sustainability and animal welfare, including harmonised methodologies for calculating livestock emissions, stronger risk‑management tools, and a roadmap to phase out cages for poultry by 2026 and pigs by 2027 with accompanying transition support.
The Ohana take: The Commission rightly acknowledges that there can be no successful livestock transition without a viable livestock sector. But counting cows differently won’t remove the climate and budget crunch that the EU’s agri sector faces. The challenge now is turning that principle into reality: mobilising investment, preventing competitiveness losses, and designing a future CAP that provides farmers with meaningful incentives to remain in the sector. See our “Deep Dive” section below for more on this.
The Commission launches Protein Action Plan to boost EU self-reliance
Alongside the Livestock Strategy, the Commission presented a Protein Action Plan, with which aims to increase EU grown protein crops for feed and food, reducing dependence on imported high protein materials such as soy. The plan sets a “35 by 35” objective to increase the share of protein from EU oilseeds and protein crops used in animal feed from roughly 25 percent today to 35 percent by 2035. This is backed up by measures to strengthen the EU’s protein value chain — from growing protein and oilseed crops, to processing and storing them, to getting them into feed and food products — diversify where imports come from and encourage member states to use CAP and tax tools to support protein crop production.
The Ohana take: This marks a shift from viewing protein purely as a global commodity towards treating it as a strategic input where the EU wants greater autonomy and resilience. But member states are already asking how far a largely non-binding plan can really influence farmers. It currently relies on a single formal target and still lacks dedicated funding. Without clearer incentives under the next CAP and the future EU budget, the Plan risks focusing more on producing alternative proteins than changing the wider protein system. Our Deep Dive below and its accompanying new blog delved into what the shift on protein means.
Commission finalises EUDR delegated and implementing acts
The Commission has adopted the delegated act amending Annex I of the EUDR, trimming and refining the list of covered products. Several items are removed from scope, including cattle hides and leather, re‑treaded tyres, soybeans for sowing, certain rubber products, conveyor and transmission belts, and aircraft and motor vehicle seats. At the same time, new products such as soluble coffee, specific palm oil derivatives and frozen cattle tongues are added, but will only become subject to the Regulation from 30 December 2027, giving operators an extra year to adjust supply chains and data systems. In parallel, the implementing act sets the technical rules for the EUDR Information System, introducing simplified due diligence declarations for micro and small primary operators, updated specifications for automated APIs, and a phased roll‑out of additional system functions and company training starting later this summer.
The Ohana take: Together, these acts clarify both product coverage and how information will be reported, which is essential for companies now designing their EUDR compliance architecture. The exclusions, delayed application for new products and targeted exemptions for samples, waste, used and second‑hand goods, packing materials and inputs for medicinal products give operators clearer boundaries, while the IT rules start to turn EUDR into a practical, operational system rather than just a legal obligation.
The Public Procurement Act goes forward – but food is missing for now
A major overhaul of the EU public procurement framework, setting requirements for public purchasing rules, covering everything from motorway contracts to school catering, is expected on 9 September. While the Vision for Agriculture and Food promised to “strengthen” food‑related public procurement and to steer public canteens toward local, seasonal and higher‑welfare products, the draft currently contains no dedicated chapter on agriculture or food. It also includes no references to organic production, geographical indications, short supply chains, animal welfare, fisheries or aquaculture. Food appears only once as one of several optional environmental goals, while school meals are listed as services that can be bought via direct award rather than competitive tender.
The Ohana take: For now, this suggests a gap between the political narrative on using public procurement to shift food systems and the actual legislative text. Excluding specific food procurement measures from the final Act would be a major missed opportunity. Given the EU’s estimated €50 billion annual public spend on food, procurement has enormous potential to support sustainability, strengthen local supply chains and create stable markets for farmers.
The publication of the EU Livestock Strategy and Protein Action Plan marks a significant shift in how the Commission approaches Europe’s food system. Together, the two initiatives position livestock and protein not only as agricultural issues, but as strategic assets for food security, competitiveness, and resilience.
The Livestock Strategy seeks to reconcile emissions reductions with maintaining a strong European livestock sector. Rather than focusing on reducing herd sizes, it emphasises innovation—including improved breeding, animal health, vaccines and welfare—as well as more refined methodologies for measuring emissions, particularly biogenic methane. Alongside this, the Protein Action Plan aims to reduce the EU’s dependence on imported feed proteins by increasing domestic protein crop production, strengthening value chains and supporting research, investment and market development.
Taken together, the two strategies reflect a broader shift in EU policymaking. Like recent initiatives on critical raw materials and clean technologies, they apply the logic of strategic autonomy to the agrifood sector: identifying dependencies, strengthening domestic capacity and building more resilient supply chains.
The focus now turns to implementation. Many of the proposed measures will depend on future decisions under the next CAP, the Multiannual Financial Framework and related legislation. For Member States, the key question is whether funding will match ambition—from supporting protein crop expansion and animal health measures to financing the transition to more sustainable production systems. Without adequate investment, delivering the strategies’ objectives will prove challenging.
→ Read our analysis of the EU Protein Action Plan and what it means for the agrifood sector.
9 September 2026
This event will offer an opportunity to deep-dive into EU policy with Euractiv’s Agrifood Editor, Angelo Di Mambro, and his team of reporters. You will hear their personal insights by interacting with them in a private, off-the-record setting.
16 – 17 September 2026
Bringing together buyers, retailers, brands, manufacturers and foodservice professionals, the event is one of the leading trade gatherings for the natural and organic sector in the United Kingdom and beyond. The show aims to create additional opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange and business development.
24 – 25 September 2026
The focus of the Conference is on the upcoming Vision for Agriculture and Food through the next EU Research and Innovation Programme 2028-2034 (FP10) and the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). The two-day event will offer a space for reflection, exchange and co-creation with key stakeholders on priorities for future agriculture, forestry and rural R&I.
29 September 2026
The second edition of the House of Agroecology, the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture , and One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) Financial Instruments for Farm Transition series, a full-day event convening farmers, financial institutions, insurers, public investors, and policymakers to accelerate the development of practical financing pathways for regenerative and agroecological transition.
2 September
FOAM Organics Europe, together with the project OrganicClimateNET, FiBL, Justus Liebig University Giessen and FIRAB will organise a discussion at the European Parliament on the role of organic farming in strengthening the climate resilience of European agriculture and exchange perspectives on the forthcoming integrated framework for European climate resilience and risk management.
The event is co-hosted by MEP Cristina Guarda (Greens/EFA) and MEP Eric Sargiacomo (S&D).
02 June 2026
Organised under the Horizon Europe BEATLES project, this final event in Brussels will present the project’s main findings, policy recommendations, and practical tools after four years of research and collaboration. It will open a broader discussion on how behavioural approaches can inform the future of EU agri-food, climate, and digitalisation policies, with a particular focus on opportunities to integrate behavioural insights into the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034).
If you have questions regarding anything in the Ohana Agri-Food Monthly Insights, please reach out to Natalia Yerashevich at natalia@ohanapublicaffairs.eu, Francesca Fina at francesca@ohanapublicaffairs.eu