In a written answer to a parliamentary question on 30 July 2026, EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen defended the Commission's proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) so that support goes to genuine farmers, responding to concerns that EU subsidies have benefited the UAE's ruling Al Nahyan family and the Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The answer, provided to MEPs Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren, and Dick Erixon (all ECR), outlines measures to cap payments, introduce ownership transparency, and prevent circumvention, directly addressing the controversy over more than EUR 71 million in CAP payments received by subsidiaries of these entities for farmland in Romania, Spain, and Italy between 2019 and 2024.
The question cited reports that Agricost, a Romanian company operating the EU's largest single farm, received EUR 10.5 million in 2024 alone. Hansen acknowledged the Commission's view that support should target genuine farmers whose principal activity is agriculture, and pointed to proposals already on the table for the future CAP rules. He noted that under current Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, Member States must ensure beneficiaries provide identification information, which is made public, but categorisation by ultimate beneficial owners is not required. However, for the 2027-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, the Financial Regulation will require collection of beneficial owner information, feeding into monitoring and risk assessment systems.
The Commissioner's answer outlines three key elements of the proposed changes: farms above a size threshold set by Member States would be ineligible if agriculture is not their principal activity; Member States would be required to differentiate degressive area-based income support to benefit smaller farmers; and the total amount of such support would be capped at EUR 100,000 per year per holding, including all holdings controlled by the same natural or legal person, to prevent circumvention. These provisions, Hansen argued, would mitigate the risk of income support going to foreign entities whose main business is not farming.
The response stops short of committing to an EU-wide assessment of CAP payments by ultimate beneficial owners, as requested by the MEPs, and does not propose immediate recovery mechanisms. Instead, it points to the ongoing legislative process for the post-2027 CAP, where the Commission's proposals are under negotiation with the European Parliament and the Council. The answer signals a policy direction toward tighter targeting of subsidies, but the practical impact will depend on the final shape of the regulations and their implementation by Member States.
For EU farmers, the proposed cap and degressivity could mean reduced payments for large holdings, potentially affecting competitiveness, while smaller farmers may benefit from redistributed support. For foreign investors and sovereign wealth funds, the new rules could restrict access to CAP funds, altering investment strategies in EU farmland. National authorities face additional administrative burdens in implementing beneficial owner checks and degressivity calculations. The Commission's stance reflects a trade-off between ensuring subsidies support genuine agricultural activity and maintaining the CAP's simplicity and appeal to investors.