Copa and Cogeca are the united voice of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU. Together, we ensure that EU agriculture is sustainable, innovative and competitive, while guaranteeing food security for 500 million people throughout Europe.
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Valérie Bris (La Coopération Agricole 🇫🇷) has been re-elected as Chair and Fausto Toni (Alleanza Cooperative 🇮🇹) has been re-elected as Vice-Chair. Their appointments come at an important time, as the Food and Feed Omnibus debates are close to a conclusion in the Parliament and the entry into force of the EUDR on 30 December 2026 will have significant impacts on the feed sector.
Agriculture is one of the most integrated sectors at European level and lies at the heart of many European institution initiatives. Copa and Cogeca organise themselves so as to respond to the challenges and questions posed by European decision-makers, allowing European farmers and cooperatives to put forward their views and proposals concerning a multitude of subjects that directly affect farmers no matter what agricultural activity they are involved in. In the following 12 categories, you will find our positions on key issues affecting the future of European agriculture.
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The coming decade is pivotal for EU agriculture. Many challenges lie ahead. We will face difficult debates on generation renewal, low farm income, market volatility and climate change. As European farmers and cooperatives, we are aware of and ready to navigate these difficult issues and to weather the changes in store. We seek to deliver the type of agriculture that our citizens expect and demand: agriculture that provides a high level of food security and high standards of quality, welfare, sustainability and environmental protection. This is our commitment to Europe! In return, we look to Europe’s leaders to deliver the policy framework that will feed our future.
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The provisional agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the targeted revision of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production represents a significant milestone. Given the tight timeframe for adopting the revised legislation before the end of 2026, Copa and Cogeca recognise the efforts of the EU institutions in reaching a timely compromise. The agreement avoids potential disruption to international trade and provides greater predictability for operators across the organic supply chain by ensuring the continuation of equivalence arrangements with third countries until 2036.
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Europe’s last chance to rebuild its agriculture on solid ground is now. This was the unequivocal message delivered from Stockholm by Europe’s leading farming and agri-cooperative organisations at the 12th Congress of European Farmers. Addressing EU Heads of State and Government gathered in Brussels, farming leaders warned that decisions on the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and EU budget will determine Europe’s ability to feed its citizens and remain secure, competitive and resilient.
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The Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026 presented its negotiating box for the next long-term EU budget. For Europe’s farmers and agri-cooperatives, the message is brutally clear: the proposed cuts remain, while no credible safeguard has been offered to preserve the CAP’s historic structure, autonomy and common character. The EU is moving dangerously close to making a grave strategic mistake.
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On Thursday and Friday in Brussels, lead representatives of Europe’s farming and agri-cooperative sectors met in a turbulent agricultural climate, following a summer of record-breaking events and just weeks before crucial decisions on the future of EU agricultural policy. With major challenges looming, stability and continuity prevailed, as both the Copa and Cogeca presidencies were renewed to steer the organisations through the difficult months ahead.
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In the wake of the European Commission’s 8th September publication of its new R&I framework for the agricultural and forestry sectors, Copa and Cogeca attended the EU AgRI 2040 Conference in Brussels. It was an opportunity to bring once again our clear message: EU R&I must deliver on the ground benefits for farmers.
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In plenary the Parliament rejected “Article 27a” closing the only door to a temporary safeguard that could have protected farmers from the impact of exceptionally high fertiliser prices in times of crisis. As fertiliser prices remain high and geopolitical tensions are putting further pressure on energy and fertiliser markets, this decision is simply incomprehensible!
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For farmers and agri-cooperatives, this reform could provide a concrete way to strengthen 🇪🇺 strategic autonomy and ensure that European taxpayers' money supports Europe’s own production capacity, after years of procurement practices focused primarily on the lowest price.
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The Committee on Agriculture just adopted, by a large majority, its opinion on the Commission’s proposal to revise the Industrial Emissions Directive. The Committee reiterated the European Parliament’s main conclusion from 2023: the scope for livestock activities covered by the IED was not suited for this Directive targeting large industrial polluters.
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The crisis, coming on top of the input crisis and the sharp increases in fertiliser and energy costs, is no longer simply a question of this summer’s harvest. It poses a risk for the economy, production and food-security, as well and an inflation risk that will extend into the months ahead.
As political work resumes in Brussels, we believe it would be an understatement to say that morale across Europe’s farming community is anything but high. Another summer of extreme weather, drought and wildfires has added pressure to already difficult market conditions in many Member States. Fertiliser and energy costs remain a concern, with farm finances already running dry, while wars, trade tensions, intensifying global competition and climate shocks are darkening both the immediate and longer-term outlook.
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The experts of the Copa-Cogeca Working Parties on Cereals, Oilseeds and Protein Crops expect a more challenging year for EU cereals in 2026, while oilseeds are forecast to deliver another strong harvest and protein crops are expected to maintain their positive momentum despite lower yields. However, the overall outlook remains highly weather-dependent, and the coming weeks will be crucial in confirming final production, as the recent weather events may have a greater impact than initially expected.
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After 3 years of assessment, the European Commission has published its long-awaited evaluation of the Nitrates Directive.This evaluation should have opened a genuine reflection on whether a legislative framework designed more than 30 years ago remains fit for the challenges of 21st-century agriculture. Instead, it largely maintains the status quo, which is a clear disappointment for COPA COGECA.
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Yesterday’s vote in the European Parliament’s AGRI Committee approving Rapporteur Camilla Laureti’s report on the targeted revision of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 represents a significant step forward in the legislative process. The adoption of the 5 compromise amendments, that the rapporteur and shadow rapporteurs negotiated, provides a clearer path for the upcoming trilogue negotiations.
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The EU Competitiveness Agenda and Competitiveness Fund 2028–2034 must place agriculture and the agri-food chain at their core—because they are at the heart of the European project, a pillar of 🇪🇺 economy, security and way of life. 40 signing organisations consider the European Competitiveness Fund a major opportunity to mobilise investments in agriculture, food and the whole agri-food chain - including its processing and manufacturing activities - within the future MFF enabling deployment of key strategic investments for infrastructure, services and skills focusing on strategic actions and reducing the investment gap of the sector.
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Following today's approval by the European Parliament of the modernised EU–Mexico Agreement, Copa and Cogeca underline that the agreement has the potential to strengthen EU agri-food exports and regulatory cooperation. Delivering on that potential, however, will require effective implementation, robust enforcement and careful monitoring of its impact on sensitive agricultural sectors.
We welcome today's vote by the European Parliament adopting the Motion for a Resolution objecting to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2680, which would have classified soybean oil as a high indirect land-use change (ILUC) risk feedstock under the Renewable Energy Directive. This vote sends a strong signal in favour of evidence-based policymaking and greater coherence between the EU's renewable energy, agriculture and food security objectives.
From Stockholm, Europe's leading farming organisations are sounding the alarm. In a landmark declaration addressed to EU Heads of State and Government meeting in Brussels for the European Council meeting, the European farming community is sending a clear warning:European agriculture is approaching breaking point, and the window to rebuild it on solid foundations is rapidly closing.
We’re all talking about the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. What exactly is it? How does it work, and, above all, how much will it really cost European farmers? Has anyone actually done the maths? At Copa Cogeca, we have, and the result is frightening!
For 3 years in a row, European cereal producers are in the red economically, losing up to €500 per hectare. This situation is becoming increasingly structural and should raise concern well beyond the farming sector. What is the main driver? Fertilisers and their prices.
From 18 December in Bruxelles to 20 January in Strasbourg, European farmers have shown their determination to save the future of EU farming.Farmers have been one of the backbone of European construction for more than 80 years. If you break the backbone, you can't stand anymore. Our message is clear: we will keep pushing for a strong common CAP, for fair trade deals and legal certainty. The mobilisation continues!
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raising farmers and cooperatives voices inside Copa-Cogeca bodies
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European agriculture and forestry are incredibly diverse. This diversity is our pride and our strength, and we must do everything in our collective power to protect it! This is why all models of agriculture, all types of production and all sizes of farms and cooperatives are represented within Copa and Cogeca.
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