Will the fragile geopolitical context (war in Ukraine, rising tariffs) lead to abandoning the goals of the Green Deal, or could it serve as a catalyst? What should be expected from the revision of European public procurement directives? What are the priorities of the new European Food Council? At what scale and through which levers can meaningful change be implemented?
Co-organized by France Urbaine, Eating City, Agores, Manger Demain, the Lascaux Center for Transitions, Mouans-Sartoux, Organic Cities, and ICLEI, the April 23 webinar offered a mid-term review of ongoing campaigns aiming to use public procurement as a key lever to transform food systems.
A Strong and Mobilizing European Narrative Gaining Ground Since the Brussels Declaration
“For years, across Europe, local authorities—particularly bio-regions and bio-cities—have worked to make public catering a tool to combat food insecurity, reduce social inequalities, stimulate economic development, support sustainable agriculture, increase the share of organic products, protect the environment, and promote healthier diets.”
These words open the Brussels Declaration of November 2024, in which ICLEI, IFOAM, Organic Cities, the Buy Better Food campaign, Biodinamica, and partners of the “Free Public Procurement” campaign (France Urbaine, Eating City, Agores, Manger Demain, the Lascaux Center for Transitions, the cities of Brussels and Mouans-Sartoux) call on the European Union to consider two major priorities:
- Establish minimum sustainability criteria within a harmonized European framework to encourage local authorities to make more sustainable choices;
- Simplify the procurement process, allowing public entities to choose procedures best suited to strengthening short supply chains for fairer, healthier, and more sustainable food systems.
Strong Local Commitment Despite Ongoing Constraints
In the Liège area | Davide Arcadipane presented a long-standing strategy to promote local and sustainable sourcing. The region provides 4,000 meals daily—3,000 of which go to schools—and supports market access for about 50 farms in the province and 100 across Wallonia. The resulting economic flows remain in the region, creating a real multiplier effect. A local food processing facility further facilitates nearby sourcing. The negotiated procedure without publicity is preferred, as it best fits producers’ profiles and avoids competition with multinationals or wholesalers. However, public procurement thresholds and volume limits restrict its use—for example, excluding hospitals or nursing homes. The difficulty in introducing geographical origin criteria also remains a challenge. Wallonia’s support is conditional on promoting local products, yet legal frameworks do not always make this easy. Nationally, the notion of « short supply chain » lacks a legal definition in contrast to other EU member states. Local authorities, particularly under financial pressure, must balance quality initiatives with budgetary constraints.
Quality and Food Security Prioritized in Baltic Regions | Jennifer Avci, founder of Sustainable Gastro, highlighted that between 2022 and 2024, 42 schools in Võru County (Estonia) adopted programs to increase local organic food use. A logistics center is being established for food storage and packaging. In Latvia, the Ministry of Agriculture has created a “Farm to School” task force to roll out four such centers.
Persistent Contradictions in France and Across Europe | Gilles Pérole, spokesperson for the Association of French Mayors and Deputy Mayor of Mouans-Sartoux, stressed that many cities—from Paris, Toulouse, Milan, and Copenhagen to smaller towns—are involved in food system transformation. In Mouans-Sartoux, impact studies show that quality school meals significantly influence community food habits. Still, Pérole notes the complexity and time commitment for producers to engage in public procurement, calling for simplified processes for direct sourcing. He also highlights a legal inconsistency: municipalities can require local sourcing when contracting private operators, but not when services are managed in-house. Moreover, EU law is not uniformly transposed across member states—Italy’s « zero-kilometre » law and Romania’s legal framework support local criteria, unlike France’s.
An Evolving European Framework, Shifting Towards Competitiveness and Defense
Although Commissioner Hansen’s vision for agriculture and food (Feb 2025) references public procurement, it focuses largely on production, leaving out broader food system issues and offering only partial follow-up on the strategic dialogue for agriculture’s future. This sectoral approach risks sidelining holistic food system strategies, warns Marta Messa, Secretary General of Slow Food, which promotes sustainable, quality food across 160+ countries. Slow Food, part of the European Board on Agriculture and Food (EBAF), continues to advocate for an integrated approach. Key developments include:
- Multiannual financial framework (Fall 2025): Expected to prioritize security, defense, and competitiveness;
- Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) simplification: While new proposals are expected in May, Slow Food warns that « simplification » could be a pretext to lower environmental and social standards;
- Water Resilience Strategy: Under development by the Commission in response to climate events. Slow Food cautions against focusing solely on technical solutions, stressing the role of food waste in water use;
- Seed legislation trilogue: Article 30 is under scrutiny for potentially reducing biodiversity and limiting small producers’ flexibility;
- Public procurement directive review (from 2026): France Urbaine is part of the stakeholder group assisting the Commission in evaluating these directives. Although a draft framework law for sustainable food systems is no longer on the agenda, DG Santé is preparing a list of environmental, nutritional, and socio-economic criteria for local authorities, to be opened for public consultation, and largely aligned with the Buy Better Food campaign (ICLEI). Copenhagen is a leading supporter of the European buyers’ network and information-sharing platform in development.
What Mobilization Strategies?
Food security, financial constraints, and competitiveness—conceptual battles at the heart of EU policymaking. Marta Messa advocates for quality-based competitiveness rather than a model reliant solely on cost, volume, and technical progress. With one-third of food currently wasted, she calls for a positive competition celebrating cultural and food diversity.
Maurizio Mariani (Eating City) echoes this, citing the decline in producer numbers and diversion of profits to intermediaries in collective catering over recent decades. Stéphane Linou, advocate of food resilience in France, views local short supply chains as a strategic hedge against geopolitical and climate shocks.
Gilles Pérole stresses the hidden cost of current systems. According to a recent report by Secours Catholique, CIVAM, Solidarité Paysans, and the French Diabetes Federation, of the €48 billion in public subsidies, nearly €19 billion support non-sustainable models that lead to higher healthcare and environmental costs—“the public sector ends up paying twice.”
A Legal Battle for Coherence
According to Professor Fabrice Riem (University of Pau), the issue is not creating more laws but aligning the many fragmented legal frameworks affecting food systems. Maurizio Mariani references Italy’s 2022 constitutional revision, affirming that economic activity must not harm security, freedom, dignity, health, or the environment—a model that could guide national, regional, and local actions across Europe. The right to food is also a recurring topic at the Council of Europe.
A Call for Collective Mobilization
“Food is not a luxury issue,” reminds Marta Messa. Civil society engagement is crucial. Projects like School Food 4 Change (Eating City), ICLEI, Eurocities, and Slow Food showcase a pan-European movement. Families, teachers, children, and municipalities are driving change in countries like the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Denmark, Belgium, and Lithuania. “School meals are a universal language,” says Jennifer Avci. Maurizio Mariani calls for larger-scale events in Brussels, rooted in local and regional activism and in close collaboration with MEPs and local politicians.
An Issue to Advance in the European Parliament
MEPs Valérie Hayer (Renew) and Camilla Laureti (S&D) both emphasize the importance of collective engagement. Hayer calls for a comprehensive approach to agricultural policy, aligned with the European Green Deal. The 25% organic farming target cannot be achieved through subsidies alone—it requires action on demand, consumption, and supply chains. She supports fairer pay for farmers based on product quality and has advocated for a greater role for public procurement.
Laureti calls for stronger local and national authority involvement to guarantee food security, environmental protection, and public health, especially in rural development policies. Her holistic approach incorporates social, environmental, and health considerations.
Finally, Claudio Serafini highlights the importance of mobilizing the European Parliament. Organic Cities is planning a conference in autumn to this end. Alongside Maurizio Mariani, he repositions the debate: “How do we feed humanity? The answer is local. International institutions are weak, but we must also strengthen international dialogue—to feed humanity with social justice and respect for the planet.”
This conclusion echoes the determined opening remarks of Audrey Pulvar, Deputy Mayor of Paris and Co-Chair of the Food Strategies Commission of France Urbaine:
“Our advocacy reflects a shared conviction: a profound ecological transition of agriculture and of our European agricultural and food systems is both possible and already underway. It is our responsibility to shape the framework for more resilient and fairer systems—systems that also help restore the appeal of economic sectors that currently suffer from a lack of interest among those considering career changes or professional engagement.”