Media report: Royal family of the Emirates received EU agricultural millions

Agricultural support is one of the largest items in the EU budget. Around 55 billion euros flow to agricultural businesses and landowners every year. The amount of payments depends largely on the area cultivated: the larger the field, the more money there is. Before Brexit, the British royal family was one of the largest recipients.

The family of the President of the UAE, Mohammed bin Sayed Al Nahyan, is one of the richest in the world because of its oil revenues. According to the media report, it came primarily via the Romanian agricultural group Agricost to the funds. Agricost manages around 57,000 hectares, owns the largest single agricultural company in the EU and received around 10.5 million euros in EU funding in 2024.

The EU Commission sees EU states as responsible

A spokeswoman for the EU Commission said on Thursday that Brussels would contact the authorities in the affected EU countries. The Commission itself does not intervene in the disbursement of the money, she continued: “This task and responsibility lies with the member states.” Brussels therefore does not keep lists of recipients or their owners.

The green delegation leader Thomas Waitz, who is involved in negotiating the new EU agricultural policy for the next funding period, commented in a press release: “This is not a loophole in the law, but a scandal that cannot be surpassed in terms of absurdity.”

For a new edition of agricultural funding from 2028, the Commission has proposed limiting funding to a maximum of 100,000 euros per year per company. Brussels has made such proposals several times over the past decades, but has never succeeded. Farmers’ associations in several countries, including the German Farmers’ Association, are campaigning against an upper limit.