Few places illustrate both the promise and the complexity of European agriculture as clearly as the Azores. Blessed with fertile volcanic soils, abundant rainfall, and generations of farming knowledge, the archipelago also carries the permanent burdens of distance, insularity, fragmented markets, and higher production costs. It is this paradox that brought members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) to the islands for a three-day mission, where they encountered a remarkably unified message from government officials, farmers, researchers, and political leaders: the future of Azorean agriculture depends on Europe continuing to recognize that the outermost regions cannot be governed by the same rules as continental Europe.
The parliamentary delegation visited São Miguel and Terceira, meeting with members of the Regional Government, the Azorean Legislative Assembly, agricultural organizations, researchers from the University of the Azores, and producers representing the dairy, tea, pineapple, fruit, vegetable, honey, and floriculture sectors. The mission formed part of ongoing discussions surrounding the European Union’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034), the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and, above all, the continuation of the POSEI program, the European instrument specifically designed to support agriculture in the Union’s outermost regions.
At the forefront of the discussions was Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food António Ventura, who argued that agriculture in the Azores requires continued recognition under Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the legal provision that acknowledges the permanent structural disadvantages faced by the outermost regions. He maintained that Azorean agriculture cannot be subjected to the same policy framework as continental Europe because its competitiveness, sustainability, and social cohesion depend upon instruments specifically adapted to island realities.
Central to that argument was the future of POSEI.
Ventura insisted that the program must remain an autonomous European instrument with its own legislation, governance, and budget, rather than being absorbed into broader national funding envelopes. He emphasized that POSEI continues to be indispensable in compensating for the structural disadvantages inherent to the archipelago and argued that it should remain financed entirely through European funds while preserving the possibility of complementary state aid. He also opposed proposals to increase the national co-financing rate for certain CAP measures in the outermost regions, warning that requiring the Azores to contribute beyond the current 15 percent would place an unsustainable financial burden on the Region.
The Regional Government further called for the continuation of enhanced investment support rates of 85 percent for productive agricultural investments and for mechanisms capable of ensuring a smooth transition between the current European programming period and the next financial framework. Although Ventura acknowledged that negotiations had already secured the reintroduction of an explicit reference to the POSEI Regulation within the European legislative proposal, he stressed that several structural issues remain unresolved and that the outcome of negotiations in Brussels will shape the future of Azorean agriculture for years to come.
That position was echoed forcefully by the Federação Agrícola dos Açores.
Its president, Jorge Rita, rejected any proposal to incorporate POSEI into a national funding envelope, warning that excessive centralization by the Portuguese State has historically disadvantaged farmers in both the Azores and Madeira whenever national agricultural support is distributed. Incorporating POSEI into such a framework, he argued, could prove disastrous for island agriculture. Rita also pointed out that, unlike many other European support mechanisms that have been adjusted for inflation, POSEI has never received a corresponding financial update despite steadily rising production costs.
He highlighted another persistent challenge: transportation.
The high cost of importing agricultural inputs and exporting finished products continues to constrain the islands’ economy, reducing competitiveness despite the exceptional quality of Azorean production. At a time when Europe is increasing investment in defense and security, Rita cautioned that agricultural funding must not become a casualty of shifting political priorities. Food security, he argued, remains an essential component of Europe’s strategic resilience.
Members of the Azorean Legislative Assembly, representing different political perspectives, expressed strikingly similar concerns.
PSD deputy Paulo Silveira described POSEI as far more than an agricultural subsidy, calling it an essential instrument of European cohesion that reduces the inequalities created by ultraperipheral geography while sustaining competitiveness, innovation, and production across multiple agricultural sectors. He also proposed the creation of a dedicated “POSEI-Transport” instrument to offset increasing transportation costs and the impact of new environmental regulations on island producers.
Chega deputy Olivéria Santos likewise defended the preservation and strengthening of POSEI, arguing that Brussels must better understand the practical realities of farming in island regions where production costs remain significantly higher than elsewhere in Europe. Without positive discrimination in favor of the Azores, she warned, many agricultural enterprises could eventually become economically unsustainable, threatening not only production volumes but also the exceptional quality that distinguishes Azorean products.
From the left, Bloco de Esquerda deputy António Lima also defended maintaining POSEI as an independent program while expressing concern about the increasing centralization of European funds within national governments. For the outermost regions, he argued, effective agricultural policy depends upon proximity in management and continued financial adaptation to rising production costs. He further cautioned that agriculture should not be sacrificed to broader geopolitical priorities, insisting that Europe’s true security begins with food security and territorial cohesion.
The European visitors appeared receptive to these concerns.
According to Jorge Rita, AGRI Committee Chair Veronika Vrecionová acknowledged the particular circumstances facing the Azores and emphasized that Europe must continue to prioritize food security. While recognizing that many challenges confronting Azorean farmers resemble those experienced elsewhere across Europe, she also accepted that issues such as remoteness, climate, labor shortages, agricultural insurance, and transportation costs create additional burdens requiring specific policy responses.
For Azorean Member of the European Parliament André Franqueira Rodrigues, who proposed the parliamentary mission, the visit itself represents an important achievement. By bringing European decision-makers directly to the islands before final negotiations over the future CAP and POSEI, policymakers were able to experience firsthand the realities that statistical reports alone cannot fully convey. Franqueira Rodrigues noted that early work within the current parliamentary mandate has already produced encouraging results, including support for increasing the proposed POSEI allocation by approximately sixty percent compared with the European Commission’s original proposal.
Ultimately, the visit demonstrated something that transcended political affiliation. Across government, opposition parties, agricultural organizations, and producers, there exists broad consensus that the Azores’ future depends upon Europe’s continued recognition that equality does not always mean uniformity. Treating every region identically may satisfy administrative simplicity, but genuine cohesion requires acknowledging profound geographical differences. For the Azores, separated from continental Europe by more than a thousand miles of Atlantic Ocean, the principle of European solidarity has never been about receiving special privilege. It has always been about ensuring that distance does not become destiny.
Based on a story in Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director. Photos from DI.