UAE Royals Reap EU Farm Subsidies

UAE Royal Family Receives EU Farm Subsidies The United Arab Emirates' ruling Al Nahyan family has received over 71 million euros in European Union farming subsidies between 2019 and 2024 for agricultural land controlled in Romania, Italy, and Spain. This financial benefit stems from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which allocates approximately 54 billion euros annually to farmers and rural areas across the bloc.

The Al Nahyan family, through subsidiaries and sovereign wealth funds like ADQ, controls significant agricultural holdings in Europe, including Romania's Agricost, which operates the EU's largest single farm at 57,000 hectares.

The subsidies were identified through a cross-border investigation by DeSmog, El Diario, and G4Media, which analyzed CAP beneficiary data. The largest payments were directed to Agricost, which alone received 10.5 million euros in direct payments in 2024. The Al Nahyan family's expansion into European agriculture is part of the UAE's broader food security strategy, aiming to secure food supplies for a nation that imports up to 90% of its food due to environmental constraints.

This situation has prompted debate among policymakers regarding the future of the EU's subsidy scheme. The European Commission has proposed changes for the 2028-2034 CAP period, including capping land-based payments to 100,000 euros per farmer annually, to better target income support and reduce disproportionate benefits to large landowners. Critics argue that the current CAP structure disproportionately benefits wealthy entities and foreign investors, rather than supporting average EU farmers.