Summary as submitted by Talamh Beo December 2025
Question 1 – What should Ireland choose as the high-level thematic priorities for its Presidency of the Council in 2026?
Talamh Beo proposes the following overarching framing and three Presidency themes:
Overarching phrase / slogan “A Living Europe: Fair Livelihoods, Living Land, Shared Future.”
Theme 1 – Fair Livelihoods for Farmers and Rural Communities
Across the EU, farmers face income insecurity, market volatility and rapid structural change. The Presidency should place decent livelihoods for small- and medium-scale farmers, farm workers and rural communities at the heart of the EU agenda. This means prioritising fair prices, strong social protections, and policies that enable people to remain on the land and in rural areas. A Presidency focus on fair livelihoods would align Ireland with the growing European movement for a redistributive CAP and stronger market regulation.
Theme 2 – A Just Green Transition through Agroecology
The European Green Deal and the Strategic Agenda 2024–2029 require a farming model that can deliver simultaneously on climate, biodiversity, water and food security. The Presidency should highlight agroecology as a central pathway for the CAP post-2027 and for wider EU policies on soil health, nature restoration, climate adaptation and resilience. This includes supporting diversified farming systems, reduced dependence on synthetic inputs, and a transition away from extractive, export-oriented models.
Theme 3 – Food Sovereignty, Democracy and Local Food Systems
Citizens are increasingly concerned about food affordability, quality, and origin. The Presidency should foreground Food Sovereignty as a democratic framework for food systems – strengthening local and regional food economies, short supply chains, and public participation in decision-making. This links directly to the EU’s cohesion, health, social inclusion and security agendas, and can be reflected in the work of multiple Council formations (AGRIFISH, ENVI, EPSCO, GAC). Food Sovereignty is the democratic foundation for a fair and sustainable food system, linking farmers’ rights, seed autonomy, and community-led food distribution
Together these themes would allow Ireland to act as an honest broker while still offering a positive, future-oriented vision: an EU where land, livelihoods and democracy are central to the green transition, and where rural communities are recognised as key partners in delivering Union-wide objectives.
Question 2 – Which particular policy areas and legislative proposals should be a focus of work for the Irish Presidency of the Council in 2026? What should the Irish Presidency aim to achieve in these areas?
From Talamh Beo’s perspective, the Irish Presidency should focus on the following priority areas within the Council’s 2026 work:
Lead early Council debates on fundamental CAP reform, including a move away from uncoupled, hectare-based payments toward “public money for public goods”, targeted to environmental and social outcomes
Promote mandatory capping and degressivity of direct payments, prioritising small- and medium-scale family farms and active farmers.
Ensure that the Council conclusions on CAP post-2027 explicitly reference agroecology and diversified farming systems as key instruments for delivering Green Deal and biodiversity objectives.
Strengthen the Common Market Organisation (CMO): explore tools for production management, crisis reserves and strategic stocks to stabilise prices and ensure cost-covering farm incomes. Without strong market regulation tools, farmers are structurally exposed to price volatility and corporate abuses. Strengthening the CMO is essential for restoring farmers’ bargaining power.
Advance Council work on implementation and possible revision of the Unfair Trading Practices Directive, with stronger enforcement, transparency and penalties.
Highlight best practice on local food policy frameworks that recognise local food producers, short supply chains, and local processing infrastructure.
Support legislative and policy initiatives that increase EU production of fruit, vegetables and protein crops, reducing import dependence and enhancing food autonomy, including specific income supports for Local Food Producers.
Prioritise generational renewal and land access in rural development and cohesion discussions, including land observatories, support for new entrants and tools to address land concentration, such as and EU Directive on Land to address speculation, concentration and artificialisation, and to guarantee young and new farmers access to land and credit.
Use the Presidency to steer Council discussions towards coherent trade policies that do not undermine EU climate, biodiversity and social goals.
Create space for a political discussion on trade deals such as MERCOSUR, and on reforms to prevent agricultural dumping and to support food sovereignty in partner countries. Trade agreements such as MERCOSUR undermine small farms, depress prices, and accelerate environmental destruction, contradicting EU objectives for equality and climate action.
Question 3 – How can the work of the Council during the term of the Irish Presidency make the most substantial positive impact for people, businesses and communities across the EU?
The work of the Council during Ireland’s Presidency can deliver substantial positive impact if it pursues an integrated approach that connects farm incomes, environmental sustainability and community resilience.
For people and communities, prioritising agroecology and local food systems can:
For businesses, especially SMEs and family farms, a rebalanced policy agenda can:
For the EU as a whole, these priorities would:
Analysis shows that small and medium farms are the backbone of rural employment, biodiversity and cultural identity. Policies that protect these farms offer the greatest return in terms of resilience, social cohesion and climate mitigation.
An Irish Presidency that deliberately links fair livelihoods, living landscapes and strong communities can help rebuild trust in the European project, particularly in rural regions where citizens often feel left behind by globalisation and past policy choices.
Question 4 – How can we best communicate the values and benefits of EU membership to its citizens and create a sense of ownership, amongst citizens, over Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU?
Ireland’s Presidency offers a strong opportunity to connect EU institutions with everyday life, especially in rural areas. Talamh Beo suggests:
By making food, land and community central to its communications, Ireland can show citizens that the EU is not an abstract bureaucracy but a shared project shaping the future of their local places.
Question 5 – Any other comments
Talamh Beo is a farmer- and citizen-led organisation working for Food Sovereignty and an agroecological transition in Ireland and Europe. We are the Irish member of the international peasant movement La Via Campesina, representing small-scale farmers, land-based workers and rural communities.
Alongside this form you can find our Local Food Policy Framework, which proposes institutional recognition and supports for local food producers and short supply chains;
We recognise that the Presidency must act as an impartial chair and honest broker. Our intention is not to promote narrow national interests but to offer a coherent, people-centred vision that responds to shared challenges across the Union: climate breakdown, biodiversity collapse, rural decline, food insecurity, and growing mistrust in institutions.
We believe Ireland is uniquely well placed – culturally, historically and politically – to lead a European conversation on how fair livelihoods, living land and democratic participation can underpin the EU’s Strategic Agenda 2024–2029. We would welcome opportunities to contribute further, including to Presidency events that bring farmers and citizens into dialogue with EU decision-makers.
