French MEP Eric Sargiacomo (S&D) has asked the European Commission whether it is time to replace the 1992 Memorandum of Understanding on Oilseeds with the United States with a new agreement securing EU soya supplies, and whether the area cap for oilseeds eligible for CAP aid has been updated to reflect EU enlargements. The written question, submitted on 1 June 2026, targets two apparent inconsistencies in EU policy: a bilateral deal with the US that predates the rise of Brazil as the EU's top soya supplier, and a hectare cap that may not account for the nearly 40% expansion of EU agricultural land since 1992.
Sargiacomo's question highlights a tension between the EU's stated goal of reducing protein import dependence and the continued use of a 34-year-old cap on oilseeds area eligible for support. The MEP notes that the Commission's own proposal for a regulation on national and regional partnership plans (Article 41) references the 1992 US memorandum, while simultaneously proposing to create a protein crop sector under the Common Market Organisation Regulation to boost EU production and strategic autonomy. The question asks whether diplomatic action should be taken to replace the memorandum with a new supply agreement, and whether the capped areas have been increased to reflect EU enlargements.
As a parliamentary question under Rule 144, the Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks. The answer will signal whether the Commission considers the 1992 cap and memorandum still fit for purpose, or whether it is open to updating them in light of changed trade patterns and the EU's protein autonomy goals. The issue affects EU farmers growing oilseeds and protein crops, who face limits on eligible hectares, as well as EU livestock producers reliant on imported soya for feed. A revision could shift support towards domestic production, reducing import dependence but potentially raising costs for feed users. The question also touches on EU-US trade relations, as the US remains a major soya exporter, though now surpassed by Brazil in EU imports.