On 19 May 2025, the BEATLES Horizon Europe project hosted its third EU multi-actor working group workshop, convening 25 participants from 16 countries. Organised by AEIDL, the workshop deepened the project’s ongoing exploration of fairness in EU agri-food and agricultural policy, under the banner of transitioning toward Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA).
The EU multi-actor working group is understood as a Pan-European Science-Society-Policy group formed by stakeholders involved in transition processes. It is a key part of our BEATLES co-creation process so that the leading research and policy findings we are producing can be assessed by experts and policy practitioners from outside the BEATLES project.
The session opened with presentations from leading experts across research and EU institutions. Jesús Barreiro-Hurle of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) emphasised the power of behavioural insights (BI) to shape more coherent and people-centred agricultural policies.
Michiel van Galen from Wageningen University presented an analysis of value propositions in CSA-linked food products, revealing gaps in how climate-smart practices are currently communicated to consumers. The presentation emphasised the need for business models that not only promote environmental sustainability, but also ensure fairness across food value chains.
Florian Marian of the European Economic and Social Committee called for a holistic “just transition,” where fairness encompasses social rights, labour protections, and equitable distribution across value chains. Finally, Blanca Casares of AEIDL unpacked how fairness is evolving as a guiding principle in EU law and food policy, urging a more systemic and inclusive approach to implementation. She emphasised that although still a relatively underexplored area in EU policymaking, the concept of fairness is increasingly recognised in current political discourse. She stated: “We view the notion of fairness as a fundamental principle in shaping EU policies. It is multidimensional, covering distributive, procedural, informational, and interpersonal aspects, and serves as a key driver of behavioural change amongfarmers. When policies are perceived as fair, farmers are more willing to adopt sustainable practices and engage with transformation processes.”
Blanca Casares (AEIDL) presented a comprehensive analysis of how the principle of fairness is defined, integrated, and perceived within EU policy frameworks, with a focus on agriculture and food systems.
In May 2024, AEIDL published the Policy Brief “The notion of supply chain fairness in the EU policies related to Climate-Smart Agriculture”. It attempts to shed light on the understanding of the concept, and it encompasses a detailed examination of fairness within European Law, with a focus on the Common Agricultural Policy and the broader food policy framework. It has been complemented with a six-month consultation both EU-wide and national perspectives to explore differences in fairness perceptions across governance levels from experts on agriculture, enviroment and EU law.
Interactive breakout sessions enabled participants to collaboratively develop actionable recommendations. A key consensus emerged: fairness cannot be treated as a one-size-fits-all concept. Instead, it must be tailored to specific contexts—accounting for differences across sectors, countries, and stakeholder groups. Experts called for a systemic shift in how fairness is addressed, urging EU institutions to adopt more participatory, inclusive, and evidence-based approaches.
Participants recommended embedding fairness within broader sustainability frameworks, limiting the influence of lobbying, and amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups. They emphasised the importance of robust policy impact assessments that clearly identify both beneficiaries and those potentially disadvantaged. Additional priorities included the need for clearer trade-off analyses, improved consultation mechanisms, and the use of tools such as Territorial Impact Assessments to ensure policies reflect diverse regional and social realities.
The workshop confirmed that fairness is no longer a peripheral issue but central to transforming food systems. As BEATLES moves forward, it will continue to refine policy tools and foster stakeholder dialogue to ensure fairness is not just an aspiration but an operational reality in Europe’s agricultural transition.
A Highlights Report, presentations and recordings are available here.
