Al Nahyan family receives over €71m in EU farming subsidies
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 7
Al Nahyan family receives over €71m in EU farming subsidies
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 7
A cross-border investigation traced 110 CAP payments from 2019-2024 to family-linked companies and ADQ farms in Romania, Spain and Italy, including Romania's 57,000-hectare Agricost estate.
Agricost alone received €10.5m in 2024, while campaigners and an EU lawmaker said land-based subsidy rules disproportionately reward huge landowners and can channel public money to autocratic regimes.
The findings come as Brussels debates CAP reform for 2028-2034, including a proposed €100,000 annual payment cap, amid wider scrutiny of opaque foreign ownership and concentration of farm aid.
How did one of the world's richest families collect €71 million in EU funds intended for local farmers?
Is the UAE's food security strategy threatening Europe's own control over its farmland and food supply?
How €71 Million in EU Agricultural Subsidies Support UAE’s Food Security Strategy
Overview
Between 2019 and 2024, entities controlled by the UAE's Al Nahyan royal family received €71 million in EU agricultural subsidies, with Agricost—a UAE-owned company operating the EU's largest single farm—receiving €10.5 million in 2024 alone. These payments are enabled by EU rules allowing non-EU owners of farmland to claim subsidies. The UAE's food security strategy drives investments in large-scale foreign farmland, including in Europe. However, the EU's subsidy system favors large landowners, causing market dominance, displacing small farmers, and raising ethical concerns due to lack of transparency. Without reform, these flaws perpetuate inequality, environmental harm, and support foreign autocratic interests at the expense of local communities.