Commissioner Roswall's keynote address at the 12th Congress of European Farmers

Lennart, Palle, Minister, Farmers, Ladies and gentlemen

It is a pleasure to be part of the 2026 Congress of European Farmers.

And a pleasure to discuss a question that is central to Europe's future:

How to ensure that farming thrives in a complex world – amid real wars and trade wars, climate and environmental shocks, and geopolitical turmoil?

Let me start by saying that yes, of course, agriculture is the bedrock of European competitiveness.

Farming is part of the very fabric of Europe.

To use a Swedish term, it is vårt kulturarv. Our cultural heritage.

This means that protecting and supporting farming goes beyond economics.

It is a question of our health and the health of our land.

And of the type of future we want to build for our citizens and society.

We have a famous book in Sweden, Utvandrarna (The Emigrants), that captures the foundational importance of farming.

I have been thinking about it a lot lately – when I meet with farmers across Europe, when I reflect on food security in a turbulent world, and when I hear about agricultural losses this year.

The book paints a vivid picture of the challenges facing farmers:

This list of challenges applies just as much to farmers today as it did 200 years ago, when the book was set.

Today, farmers are on the frontline of climate change and environmental shocks.

This is not something you read about in newspapers.

You see it in your fields and your harvests.

And in rising costs and growing uncertainty.

I have seen how drought has gripped farms across Europe.

I know how it strangles and squeezes farmers.

I understand the constant stress it brings – and the immense cost.

According to recent estimates, the extreme heat and prolonged drought this year cost the agricultural sector somewhere between 14 and 17 billion euro.

In 2022, drought affected 27% of EU farmland.

The historic drought in 2003 led to massive crop failures and billions in agricultural losses.

2011, 2015, and 2018 all brought drought to farmers across Europe.