No EU candidate has agreed to run for UN food agency chief

Europe’s bid to reclaim the top job at the United Nations food agency has hit an early obstacle, with the Cyprus presidency of the EU conceding there is still no agreement on a single European contender.

Ireland has put forward former EU Commissioner Phil Hogan for the role, but his candidacy is facing determined challenges from both Italy and Spain.

The stakes are significant. Europe has not occupied the leading post at the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for five decades, and EU agriculture ministers, along with the European Commission, have recently pledged to unite behind one candidate in an effort to improve the bloc’s chances of securing the director-general position.

But in a letter sent to member states, Cypriot agriculture minister Maria Panayiotou acknowledged that the race still features three separate candidates.

The vote to choose a new FAO director-general is scheduled for July 2027, when 193 UN member states will cast ballots.

From Wednesday this week through to Friday, the Cypriot agriculture minister is conducting bilateral phone calls with all EU member states to gauge their preferences, assess support for each contender and determine whether any of the three countries might yet pull out of the contest.

Spain has nominated its serving agriculture minister, Luis Planas, while Italy has backed Maurizio Martina, who is currently serving as a deputy director-general at FAO.

Irish officials privately accept that neither Spain nor Italy appears likely to step aside.

Even so, the Government is continuing to press ahead with Phil Hogan’s campaign.

Speaking in Brussels this week, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said: “The Irish Government is supporting Phil Hogan. We think Phil is a very experienced person, he’s a politician of long standing, a senior minister in Ireland, a senior commissioner here in Brussels as well. So we think that he would be the ideal European Union candidate and we continue to support him.”

An internal memo from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine makes the case in similar terms. It says: “Mr Hogan brings nearly 40 years of public experience, including senior national, European and multilateral leadership roles. He has led multi-billion euro portfolios, delivered complex institutional reforms and represented the EU at the FAO, WTO, G20 so we’re putting forward a credible reform-capable candidate at a time of increased global pressure on food security and food systems.”

The memo continues: “Ireland is a strong supporter of multilateralism and the UN system, Ireland’s increased engagement with the Rome-based agencies, FAO, WFP and IFAD and the nomination reflect Ireland’s commitment to effective global institutions, rules-based governance and food security.”

In her letter to member states, Ms Panayiotou acknowledged that under UN rules, the right to nominate a candidate rests with individual UN member countries, despite the EU’s push to settle on a lone nominee.

It is understood the Cypriot agriculture minister told member states that the Cyprus presidency remains convinced that “reaching consensus on a single EU candidate remains of utmost importance to increase the chances of electing an EU national”.

That, she said, would “reinforce the EU’s leadership of promoting global food security in times of high geopolitical instability”.

However, it is understood she also stressed to member states that any EU-level attempt to agree one candidate “are in full respect of and in recognition of the fact that advancing a candidate is the national prerogative of any state, and these efforts to conclude with a single candidate are without prejudice to this right”.

At an informal lunch on 23 February, EU agriculture ministers unanimously agreed to work toward a single European candidate for the post.

Even so, Ireland, Spain and Italy have each submitted a nominee.

European Commission sources say Mr Hogan would be the strongest choice, but Spain and Italy continue to push their rival candidates.