Barry Cowen MEP welcomes record €205m EU food promotion budget and warns recent controversies may undermine Ireland’s agri-food success

Fianna Fáil MEP for the Midlands North-West and full member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture (AGRI) Committee, Barry Cowen, has this afternoon (23 February) welcomed the European Commission’s decision to allocate a record €205 million to the 2026 EU agri-food promotion programme, describing it as a “clear and practical win” for farmers across Ireland and Europe.

Watch full speech here.

The €205 million allocation marks the highest-ever funding level for EU promotion policy. It follows a €185.9 million allocation in 2024 and a reduced €132 million programme in 2025. The increase for 2026 was explicitly called for in a European Parliament report published last year on the future of agriculture, for which MEP Cowen served as Renew Europe’s lead negotiator, and was also included in his own position paper during that process.

MEP Cowen said the increased funding demonstrates that the Commission has listened to Parliament’s call for a properly resourced promotion policy to ensure EU farmers can compete effectively on international markets.

The Fianna Fáil MEP stressed that EU promotion policy is particularly important at a time of global trade volatility and rising standards expectations, noting that European farmers have invested heavily in environmental sustainability and animal welfare - standards which form a key competitive advantage.

Highlighting Ireland’s own performance, the Midlands North-West MEP pointed out that Irish food and drink exports rose by 5% last year to a record €17 billion, with beef exports alone reaching €3.4 billion, up 24% on 2024.

However, MEP Cowen also expressed concern at what he described as attempts by some political actors “at home and in Brussels” to undermine confidence in institutions that have played a central role in that success, including Bord Bia.

Barry Cowen MEP said:

“Europe needs a strong, properly funded promotion policy. That was the clear position of the Parliament last year, and I welcome the Commission’s decision to respond with a record €205 million allocation for 2026. It is a tangible recognition that promotion policy works.

“Our farmers have invested heavily in higher environmental and animal welfare standards. Those standards are our competitive advantage - but they only translate into income if we properly promote and defend them on global markets.

“The growth in Ireland’s own agri-food exports did not happen by accident. It was the result of sustained promotion policy, public support, and above all the hard work of farmers, alongside Government, industry and agencies such as Bord Bia - the leadership of which is entitled to scrutiny - but not demonization.

“I am disappointed to see some seek to undermine the very structures that have delivered record export growth, in pursuit of short-term political gain. In the long run, that approach will not put a single cent in a farmer’s pocket.”

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