European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen has told Dutch farmers that Brussels would no longer “just focus” on reducing livestock to cut emissions, indicating more co-operation with farmers.
Stressing European production capacity and the need for “strategic autonomy”, Hansen said reducing production would make Europe dependent on import, adding: “We don’t want that.”
The commissioner, who is making a tour visiting all European Union member states, was speaking in the Netherlands on March 20 at an event of the Netherlands Agricultural and Horticultural Association (LTO), a representative organisation of Dutch farmers.
He was quoted by Dutch media as saying: “Farmers were put in a corner, everything they do is bad. But farmers must regain centre stage.”
In almost everything, he said, he agreed with what farmers demanded in their mass protests last year.
Hansen was raised on the family farm in Wiltz, a small town near Luxembourg’s Belgian border, where his father and brother were farmers.
Additionally, his cousin, Martine Hansen, serves as Luxembourg’s agriculture minister.
Consultation and dialogue are not just words.
Thank you @LTONederland
for this opportunity to discuss key agricultural and food security issues directly with those championing the voice of the farming community, agricultural entrepreneurs and people working in horticulture. pic.twitter.com/v2kQkIhzA0— Christophe Hansen (@CHansenEU) March 20, 2025
In his speech, Hansen said Europe’s policies needed to be pragmatic and based on dialogue to make sure they could withstand the test of reality on the ground.
Breaking with policies of the previous commission, Hansen said: “Our response to today’s many challenges cannot be ‘one size fits all’. Our approach must be tailored and territorial, according to situations and needs that vary across countries and regions.”
The first and foremost priority, he said, was to now build “an attractive sector that ensures a fair standard of living and leverages new income opportunities”.
“Farmers need to have a fair and sufficient income and not, for example, be forced to systematically sell their products below production costs.”
“In this respect, public support through the Common Agricultural Policy remains essential to support farmers’ income. This support should be more targeted to active farmers who need it the most,” Hansen said.
“It needs to pay to be a farmer,” he stressed.
He noted there was what he called a huge problem with attracting young people into agriculture, with only 12 per cent of EU farmers under 40 years old and the average age being 57.
Hansen said for 2023-2027, at least the equivalent of 3 per cent of the direct payment envelope must be dedicated to generational renewal.
Then, as a second priority, was the objective to keep the agri-food sector competitive and resilient and he promised the commission would develop a plan to address the EU’s heavy reliance on high-quality protein imports.
Hansen also pledged stricter alignment on production standards for imports.
Regarding livestock, the Commissioner said Brussels was also aware of certain sensitivities, saying innovation and simplification were key for competitiveness. He promised two simplification packages in 2025: one for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in April, and another later in the year for other policy areas.
Hansen argued that simply tell farmers to cut their livestock by a set percentage was not practical, as their income depended on it. A reduction meant similar less earnings, which, he said, was unacceptable without a viable alternative — especially now, with US President Donald Trump threatening trade tariffs.
Nature, once the all-encompassing priority in Brussels, only came in third. This time the commission no longer pitched agriculture versus nature, as the environmentalist lobby had demanded, but highlighted the need for co-operation.
“Farmers depend on healthy soils, and they know this better than anyone,” Hansen said.
He emphasised that the sector’s unique characteristics and diversity must be respected, announcing that the EC would “develop an entirely voluntary On-Farm Sustainability Compass alongside an enhanced CAP toolbox”, thus ensuring farmers maintained complete freedom of choice in implementation, away from the binding nature of previous decisions.”
Finally, as a fourth priority, came reconnecting consumers with food sources while ensuring fair living and working conditions to sustain thriving rural communities.
“Rural areas are central to the European way of life and an integral part of our identity”, Hansen said, adding they “protect Europe’s beauty, environment and traditions”.
The contentious move could see an annual culling of 65,000 cows over three years. https://t.co/YiBPGi8Xh5
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 7, 2023
Dutch farmers reacted positively to the new message from Brussels.
“You are not talking about farmers and horticulturists as a problem, but as a solution. That’s what we want to hear,” said LTO president Ger Koopmans.
One farmer was quoted saying: “Can we commit you for multiple terms?”
Dutch agriculture minister Femke Wiersma, of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), went a step further, speaking to representative farmer organisation Agractie.
“We see now in times of geopolitical tensions that the focus is very much on defence and on security, but in the end it all starts with food,” news agency ANP reported her as saying.
“If you don’t get that right, that’s when you really get unrest and a disrupted society.”
In 2024, European farmers protested across multiple countries, including the Netherlands, France, Germany and Poland, against low crop prices, rising costs and strict EU environmental regulations.
Blocking roads with tractors, they demanded better financial support and trade protections. Once they started to target European capitals such as Brussels and Paris, governments responded with subsidies and policy reviews.
The protests by farmers angry about the EU's agricultural policies continue. #Belgique #farmersprotests2024 #Greendeal #EU pic.twitter.com/TirVSsIyVZ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 4, 2024
