Half a billion euros? Brussels does not understand the scale of the crisis: EU farmers are outraged

The European Commission has introduced measures to protect European farmers from the crisis of expensive fertilizers. They will be allocated half a billion euros from the euro budget and another 1 billion euros can be given by countries. Farmers are unhappy. They believe that in Brussels does not understand the scale of the crisis.

The European Commission has introduced measures aimed at helping farmers facing a sharp rise in fertilizer prices due to the Iranian war and a sharp jump in gas prices.

"To solve this situation, the European Commission proposes two specific short-term measures. Firstly, the EC provides financial assistance to farmers who need to purchase fertilizers to guarantee the next harvest. In the coming weeks, the European Commission plans to mobilize a total of 540 million euros. Earlier this week, the European Commission proposed to increase the agricultural reserve with an additional 300 million euros from the EU budget for 2026 in addition to the remaining funds. Member states will be able to replenish the reserve at the expense of national funds, bringing the total available financial support to a potential amount of 1.5 billion euros," the European Commission said in a statement.

Also, Brussels proposes targeted adjustments to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), allowing member states to provide farmers with faster and more flexible support for access to fertilizers: a new liquidity scheme, an opportunity for member states to pay direct payments to farmers earlier, as well as an opportunity for member states to adjust their direct payments budget for calendar year 2027..

The European Farmers' Association Copa and Cogeca welcomed Brussels' measures, but said they would not solve the problem.

"Copa and Cogeca recognize that these measures represent the first positive step. However, these proposals should be viewed as what they really are: limited adjustments that ignore the main problems and do not correspond to the scale of the crisis that may hit European agriculture in the coming months," the association said.

In her opinion, the package of 540 million euros remains very limited compared to the number of affected European farmers and the scale of the crisis that may unfold during the agricultural season of 2026-2027, especially given that these resources will not be used exclusively to solve the problem of rising fertilizer prices.

"Recent events have already shown how quickly fertilizer markets can be destabilized by geopolitical events. At a time when fertilizers remain one of the largest items of production costs in European agriculture — and the largest item of costs for many farmers growing crops — delays in providing effective support risk undermining the viability of farms, food production and the availability of food for European consumers," Copa and Cogeca noted..

Therefore, the association called for additional measures to be taken that can be implemented without delay and without significant budgetary consequences.: "In particular, we urge European institutions to introduce an immediate crisis retreat from the thresholds of the Manure and Digestate Nitrate Directive, which will allow farmers to use available nutrient sources more efficiently, while increasing transparency in fertilizer markets to prevent excessive volatility and speculation. We also call on the Commission and The Council will immediately suspend carbon duties (CBAM) for fertilizers.