On Monday 27 April in Luxembourg, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, confirmed that he was a candidate for the post of Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to succeed China’s Qu Dongyu.
In his view, two factors are key: - first, the possibility of putting forward a joint European candidate, which has not happened for half a century; - the future Director-General will also need to be able to build bridges with Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The vote is to be held by secret ballot in late June 2027.
On the approach to be taken, political consultation between EU Member States is underway. Mr Planas said he hoped that the European agriculture ministers would agree on a European candidate for the post at their informal meeting in Cyprus, from 3 to 5 May.
Against a backdrop of rising food prices, Mr Planas pointed out that, in regions such as Sudan and Gaza, the reality is one of hunger and death, underlining the central role of the FAO.
Mr Planas is competing among the European candidates with Ireland’s Phil Hogan and Italy’s Maurizio Martina, the current Deputy Director-General of the FAO (see EUROPE 13840/5). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)