The European Commission is presenting on Tuesday a fertiliser plan aimed at preventing another farm uprising ahead of key negotiations on the bloc's agricultural budget as the the ongoing conflict in the Middle East sends fertiliser prices soaring.
After the rural unrest that has shaken capitals from Belgium to France and Germany over the past two years, Brussels appears increasingly worried that sharply rising energy and fertiliser costs could trigger a renewed backlash against the EU’s climate agenda.
EU officials are particularly wary that high fertiliser prices could reduce crop yields, diminish food production and deepen resentment toward green policies at a time when far-right and populist parties are making gains in rural areas across the EU.
In the EU's draft fertiliser plan, which Euronews obtained and which may change slightly before its official presentation, farmers are set to benefit from emergency EU agriculture funds and advance payments under the condition that they switch to more sustainable practices like cutting synthetic fertiliser use and embracing bio-based fertilisers.
While no new funds for farmers are expected in the Commission's plan, it proposes short-term actions to "improve access" to affordable fertilisers, which implies a reshuffling of EU agricultural funds under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
