UAE Royals Pocket €71M EU Farm Subsidies

The ruling Al Nahyan family of the United Arab Emirates has benefited from over €71 million in European Union subsidies. This funding was received between 2019 and 2024 for farmland controlled by the family's subsidiaries in Romania, Italy, and Spain. These payments are part of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (Cap), which constitutes a substantial portion of the bloc's budget. Investigations revealed that a significant amount of these subsidies ends up with foreign investors, including entities linked to autocratic states.

The largest portion of these payments went to Agricost, a Romanian agricultural company owning one of the EU's largest farms. This situation has raised concerns among campaigners about EU funds supporting regimes with questionable human rights records. The European Commission has proposed reforms to the Cap, including capping payments to large landowners, to better target support towards genuine European farmers. These proposed changes aim to address the disproportionate benefit large landowners currently receive from the subsidy scheme.

The Al Nahyan family's agricultural expansion is part of the UAE's broader food security strategy, addressing the challenges of domestic crop production due to climate and water scarcity. Their European ventures are channelled through companies like Agricost and Al Dahra. ADQ, a sovereign wealth fund linked to the ruling family, also acquired Unifrutti, whose Italian farms subsequently received subsidies. The transparency of these subsidy flows is hampered by data limitations and corporate structures, making it difficult to ascertain the full extent of foreign royal family beneficiaries.