EditEU unveils fertiliser action plan as prices skyrocket
Fertilisers now cost around 70% more than in 2024 - a year in which farmers were already reporting difficulties in covering production costs
Immediate aid for farmers, greater flexibility in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), incentives for organic fertilisers, and a plan to strengthen European domestic production. On Tuesday, the European Commission presented a new action plan on fertilisers in an effort to tackle a new phase of rising costs that Brussels sees as a threat not only to the agricultural sector, but also to food security and the Union’s strategic autonomy.
The initiative comes against a backdrop of renewed volatility in energy markets and geopolitical tensions that are fuelling pressure on the prices of raw materials and agricultural inputs. According to the Commission, recent years have shown how Europe’s heavy dependence on imports makes the sector vulnerable to external shocks.
“The situation has become even more urgent,” explained European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen during the press conference following the College of Commissioners meeting. Hansen stressed that work on the plan had begun months ago, before the latest crisis in the Middle East, but that the worsening international situation had made it necessary to accelerate the timeline.
According to the Commissioner, fertilisers now cost around 70% more than in 2024 — a year in which farmers were already reporting difficulties in covering production costs.
“In some cases, fertilisers account for up to 20% of production costs,” Hansen said, warning that the current uncertainty could push many farmers to reduce the area they cultivate.
The Commissioner recounted a recent meeting with French farmers, one of whom told him he was considering abandoning half of his crops if prices remain unstable.
“These are productive lands that I refuse to lose,” Hansen declared, directly linking the fertiliser issue to European food security.
A problem of prices more than supplies
The Commission stresses that, at least in the immediate term, the problem is not availability.
“At the moment we do not have a supply problem; we have a price problem,” Hansen said.
The critical point is the structure of the European market. The EU imports about two-thirds of the urea used in agriculture – one of the most widely used fertilisers. This means that every fluctuation in global energy prices or international supplies is reflected directly in the costs borne by European farmers.
The link with gas remains central: natural gas is a key raw material for the production of chemical fertilisers. When energy costs rise, so do fertiliser costs.
While noting that direct imports from the Middle East in this sector are relatively limited – just 2-3% of the total, according to Hansen – Brussels fears indirect effects on international markets and new price spikes.
Over €400 million?
To address the short-term emergency, the Commission intends to mobilise new support through CAP instruments.
The plan includes strengthening the European agricultural reserve, via a proposal to be presented in June together with an amending budget.
Currently, just over €200 million remains available in the reserve, but Hansen explained that the Commission’s goal is at least to double that amount.
“It is the minimum,” the Commissioner said, specifying that the figure could exceed €400 million if the European Parliament and Member States approve the increase.
The executive’s intention is to make the resources available before the next sowing season.
“Liquidity must arrive when farmers make their choices for the next season,” Hansen explained.
Alongside direct funding, Brussels wants to introduce greater flexibility in the use of national CAP Strategic Plans.
The upcoming legislative package will allow member states to reallocate unspent funds towards new liquidity instruments, increase CAP payment advances, and strengthen incentives for agricultural practices that reduce the use of traditional fertilisers.
Priority investments also include precision agriculture, which should make it possible to use fertilisers more targetedly and reduce overall consumption.
The bet on “Made in Europe” fertilisers
A significant part of the plan looks to the medium and long term.
The Commission wants to reduce strategic dependencies through greater European production of organic, circular, and low-emission fertilisers.
Alternatives identified include digestates from biogas and biomethane, algae biomass, biostimulants, organic fertilisers, and systems to recover nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage sludge.
According to Hansen, Europe is underutilising a significant part of its own potential.
If used better, the organic fertilisers available on the continent could replace around 20% of the chemical fertilisers currently imported, the Commissioner argued.
Brussels also aims to review some rules to facilitate the use of digestates and adapt the application of the Nitrates Directive to the real needs of farms and local climatic conditions.
No to suspending carbon border tax
During the press conference, Hansen also rejected the idea of suspending the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a request made by some MEPs.
According to the Commissioner, scrapping the system would risk further increasing Europe’s dependence on imports and weakening domestic production.
“We must preserve the European productive fabric,” he declared, recalling that in recent years several European plants have reduced or stopped production due to competitive pressure from outside.
The Commission has nevertheless announced that it will analyse how costs linked to CBAM and the ETS system are reflected in fertiliser prices and, subsequently, in food prices.
More transparency and monitoring
The plan also provides for the creation of a new European partnership for the fertiliser supply chain that will bring together producers, farmers, and member states to improve coordination and market predictability.
Brussels also intends to strengthen sector monitoring through early warning systems and an upgrade of the European Fertiliser Observatory, which will continue to collect data on prices, stocks, and market trends.
For the Commission, what is at stake goes beyond simple support for the agricultural sector.“
We have decided to put our strategic autonomy, our food security, and our competitiveness first,” Hansen concluded.
Farmers’ organisations: “Measures insufficient”
The main agricultural organisations have given the Commission’s plan a cool reception, arguing that the announced measures are not proportionate to the severity of the cost crisis affecting the sector.
Copa-Cogeca stated that concern was “palpable” in Strasbourg, where farmers from various European countries had gathered a few hours before the plan’s presentation. According to the organisation, the package “does not contain immediate measures” capable of providing short-term relief and lacks sufficiently ambitious interventions to counter European policies that contribute to increasing fertiliser prices.
Criticism has also come from Italy. Coldiretti called the decision not to suspend CBAM and ETS for fertilisers a “serious mistake,” calling for a special European fund separate from CAP resources. On the same line, Confagricoltura judged the plan “disappointing” and asked for more incisive immediate measures, including stopping CBAM, more resources, and greater flexibility for investments in biogas and biomethane.
The original article in Italian by EUalive’s partner FocusEurope.it can be found here.
Caption: Protest in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 May 2026 against the skyrocketing price of fertilisers [@AGPM_mais on X]
Updated: May 20, 2026 - 06:00
