Introduction

• First, I would like to thank and congratulate Italy for co-hosting with the United Nations these fruitful exchanges over the three days to take stock of the implementation of food systems transformation initiated by UN Secretary General back in 2021.
• Food systems have a critical impact on people and health. With the enormous challenges we are seeing everyday in the headlines of our newspapers, we will continue to face major uncertainties in the future.
• In this regard, we need to have a meaningful and successful transition for our food system to be fit and resilient in delivering healthy food to people and co-benefits to the Earth.

Food system transformation requires a holistic and multistakeholder approach

• Food system thinking is a whole-economy approach. Producers, industry, transporters, retailers and consumers must think collectively of what the transition entails.
• Thus, the importance of building structures for citizen dialogue on food transformation is enormous.
• Food system transformation needs to be a strategic national priority. In the European Union, we are implementing our European Green Deal, with its food system component, the Farm to Fork Strategy together with the Biodiversity Strategy.
• We are advancing in its implementation. What we are seeing is the importance of an enabling environment for transition – including regulatory frameworks and investments in sustainability.
• These are the decisive means of implementation, together with innovation sharing; trade; and capacity building along the whole food chain.

Accelerate progress and scale-up the Means of Implementation for food systems transformation

• In his opening remarks for this Summit, the UN Secretary General underlined that global food systems are broken.
• Indeed, at least 258 million people were in food crisis in 2022.
• Moreover, some actors deliberately undermine food security and market stability.
• In the last three days, we have discussed the transition of our food systems to build more resilient agri-value chains and sustainable food systems.
• We need to scale up investments.
• Therefore, the EU has launched its Global Gateway initiative that builds on close cooperation of the EU and its Member States. We act as Team Europe. This offer is backed

by a EUR 18 billion Team Europe commitment in the form of grants[for the period 2021- 2024]. EUR 7 billion of this amount have been disbursed in 2022 alone.

• These grants aim to spearhead impact investments in pathways and food systems coalitions towards sustainability.
• The EU approach is:
  • Transparent: EU funded more than 50 food systems assessments to identify levers for change [through multistakeholder processes].
  • Green: EU supports agroecological practices and soil health with EUR 70 million with IFAD.
  • Scalable: EU uses innovative financing to crowd-in private sector [such as the EUR 120 million AgriFI facility]

Integrate context-tailored action within wider coordinated efforts, building on existing good practices

• We need coordinated policy discussions on food system transformation, notably to find ways of repurposing public investments to embrace the three pillars of sustainability for our food system.
• It is crucial to work together and share our experiences. I encourage all countries to continue this discussion, initiated by the UN Food System Summit 2 years ago and that is continuing today, especially in joining the collaborative work within the Coalitions of Actions.

Acknowledge the specific challenges faced by African countries and small island economies, to avoid future crises

• The EU is a reliable ally for all our partners worldwide in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Food system sustainability will continue to be embedded in our bilateral relations.
• Just a couple of weeks ago, we had fertile exchanges with the African Union Commission and many Ministers from Africa and Europe, during the fifth AU-EU Agriculture Ministerial Conference. We discussed at large sustainable investments towards data, information sharing and trade facilitation. We have had similar discussions with our close partners from Latin America and Caribbean countries. But our footprint is global.

There is an urgency to prioritise

• The transition is a necessary step towards achieving climate neutrality, build the resilience of the food system and works towards strengthening food and natural resources, most immediately water.
• Linked to the global gains of food security, food system transformation aims to improve social protection, notably through ensuring decent incomes, promoting affordable healthy diets, and contributing to the aim of “leaving no one behind”.
• This will put us back on track towards meeting Sustainable Development Goals. The European Union is committed to support this process through its domestic policies, international cooperation, and trade.