The European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

EU status at FAO

The EU became a full Member of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 26 November 1991, alongside the EU Member States. This represented an institutional breakthrough as FAO is besides the World Trade Organization (WTO), the only international organisation where the EU is a Member in its own right.

This was made necessary due to the progressive transfer of competences from the Member States to the EU for a range of matters under the scope of FAO (such as agriculture, fisheries, trade, health and consumer protection).

The status of membership of the EU required changes in the Basic Texts of the Organisation (Constitution of FAO), which were approved by the FAO Conference in 1991.

In addition, the EU membership introduced the concept of the “alternative exercise of Membership rights” between the EU and its Member States as FAO deals with issues which fall in the EU’s exclusive competence (fisheries, trade) or shared competence (notably agriculture and environment, where in addition the EU has legislated a lot over the past decades).

Ahead of all meetings of  FAO Governing Bodies (FAO Council and FAO Conference), as well as their Subsidiary Bodies, the EU and its Member States prepare and agree on joint core messages and deliver joint EU statements on all substantive items of the agenda. This practice also applies to the EU’s representation at technical committees. In all these meetings, the EU Ambassador or senior diplomats from the EU Delegation sit behind the name plate “European Union” from where they can speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States whenever matters within the EU’s competences are discussed.

In 1991, the first Framework Cooperation Agreement was reached with the EU. In 2004, a Strategic Partnership Agreement was established between the EU and FAO with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of both partners in their efforts to achieve common goals and objectives in the field of development and humanitarian affairs. The partnership focuses on fostering closer collaboration on:

• Food security

• Sustainable rural development

• Nutrition

• Resilience

• Gender

• Food safety and quality

• Climate change

• Statistical cooperation and information exchange

• Food Systems Food Systems and One Health 

• Climate Change, Biodiversity and Natural Resources 

• Addressing Food Crises, Food Security, Resilient Livelihoods

• Sustainable Agri-Food Value Chains, Investments and Policies

• Food Systems Transformation through Digitalisation 

Under this partnership agreement, the EU and FAO have further enhanced the policy dialogue at the Headquarters level and strengthened collaboration, particularly at the country level. Policy dialogue at the senior level takes place once a year between FAO and the EU.

This agreement was further refined through a Strategic Dialogue in 2023 which established five thematic areas for enhanced cooperation:

For the period 2021-2027 and under the under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument Global Europe, the European Union made EUR 80 billion available for Official Development Assistance (e.g. development projects, humanitarian aid, peace-building efforts, and partnerships with countries around the world), of which about EUR 3 billion are earmarked for the UN system. The EU's contributions to partner countries encompass a wide range of areas, including poverty reduction, education, food security, health, and infrastructure development.

FAO has a Liaison Office with the EU in Brussels in order to follow closely the work of the European institutions (Commission, Parliament, Committees, Council, European Economic and Social Committee) in areas of relevance to FAO policies and programmes, and facilitate communication and cooperation between FAO and these institutions.

FAO's Regular Programme budget is funded by its Members Nations, through annual “Assessed contributions” set at the FAO Conference every two years calculated under UN budgetary rules. This regular budget is used to finance the daily functioning of FAO as well as the core functions falling under its mandate (such as statistics and technical cooperation). Member Organisations of FAO (only the EU at the moment) pay an annual fee to cover the additional administrative costs incurred due to its membership of the Organisation. The amount is also defined at each FAO Conference.

In addition to the regular budget, FAO relies extensively on extra-budgetary resources from member countries to finance specific programmes and projects. These Voluntary Contributions provided by Members and other partners support technical and emergency assistance to governments, as well as FAO's core work. 

FAO’s total budget for 2024 – 2025 amounted to about USD 4 billion and was composed of 25% Assessed Contributions and 75% Voluntary Contributions. The EU and its 27 Member States are the main resource partners of FAO and accounted in 2025 for about 25% of total Voluntary Contributions of FAO Members, in 2025 around USD 320 million.