Iran, Hansen: “The EU’s action plan on fertilisers will be unveiled in the coming weeks”

Brussels – The European Commission wants to safeguard fertilisers and agriculture. To this end, within the College of Commissioners, “work has intensified on drafting an action plan, which will be presented in the coming weeks.” The Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, assures and reassures: the EU executive is not standing idly by in the face of the crisis caused by the US and Israeli war in Iran, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the risk of repercussions for global food security. 

The plan under consideration, Hansen continues, “will include short- and medium-term measures aimed at strengthening the EU’s production capacity and reducing high-risk strategic dependencies, to ensure that EU farmers have access to a stable and affordable supply of fertilisers.” In addition to the plan under consideration, the Commissioner for Agriculture continues, the European Commission “remains committed to conducting a constant assessment of the situation and is ready to act, if necessary, by applying the instruments at its disposal under the competition law.” 

But that is not all. Faced with risks to the fertiliser market and their impact on agriculture, the von der Leyen team is also “assessing whether further short-term support mechanisms for farmers are needed, drawing on the instruments available under the Common Agricultural Policy.” 

Hansen is presenting the EU’s strategy at the request of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, which is pressing the European Commission with a parliamentary question whose signatories include PD representatives Dario Nardella, Stefano Bonaccini, and Camilla Laureti. All are concerned about the impact of the crisis in the Middle East on supply chains and agricultural production. This fear is also causing concern within the EU executive, which is working on its strategy accordingly. 

“The Commission recognises the considerable pressure EU farmers are facing due to rising energy and fertiliser prices, exacerbated by the current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East,” Hansen continues, adding that “the resulting disruptions to global supply chains underscore the absolute necessity of strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy.”