This analysis measures the influence that Members of the European Parliament are exerting over EU legislation and documents that shape agri-food policy. It is part of a series of reports that includes:

• General influence index
• Energy policy Index
• Digital policy Index
• Health policy Index

This research measures MEPs’ influence through a combination of criteria clustered in the following categories: formal and informal leadership positions, actual legislative work, political network, committee membership and voting behaviour. To read the full methodology, click here. 

Key findings

• The top 10 most influential MEPs shaping agri-food policy are: Norbert Lins, Martin Häusling, Veronika Vrecionová, Ulrike Müller, Tilly Metz, Herbert Dorfmann, Clara Aguilera, Anja Hazekamp, Elsi Katainen and Eleonora Evi.

• Two Germans (from very different parties) top the ranking of most influential MEPs on agri-food. Other delegations tend to punch more above their weight when it comes to proportional influence are the Luxembourgers, the Finns, the Irish, the Austrians and the Belgians, while MEPs from CEE struggle to gain more influence.

• The EPP is the most influential group on agri-food topics, both in absolute terms but also proportionally to its size. The changing shift in the narrative, especially since the war in Ukraine, seems to be benefitting the conservative EPP group. However, the Greens/EFA are in second place in terms of proportional influence on this topic, thus showing that the debate on this topic remains very polarised.

• More details on the above findings can be found below.

Important: when tracking influence over EU policies, always bear in mind that while individual MEPs are the visible signatories of initiatives or amendments, they are not operating in an information vacuum. Rather, their views and actions are shaped by bigger political and societal forces / pressures that surround them and that they are networking with. 

To understand the full picture, you need to look at the strength of these forces and the direction in which they are pushing and pulling. For example, the chart below shows the level of influence of all MEPs on regulation on the agri-food sector, but also the direction in which each of them is working to influence this regulation, e.g. whether they promote a more restrictive or a more liberalised regulatory framework. Particular attention should be paid to the MEPs who are in the middle, i.e. they have both a fair level of influence and moderated views, because in the current fragmented political landscape, these MEPs (swing voters) are the ones that make the difference, i.e. their votes are the ones that decide whether a key paragraph is approved or not. 

Note: in the chart below, only the names of top MEPs are revealed. To uncover the full picture, contact us at [email protected].

The top influencer in the field of agriculture is EPP member Norbert Lins. The German MEP has been Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development since 2019 and is active on agri-food legislation. He also has relevant professional experience in this field, having worked as a personal assistant to Minister Rudolf Köberle and then advisor on broadband development in the Baden-Württemberg Regional Ministry for Rural Areas and Consumer Protection.

Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA) is the second most influential MEP in agri-food legislation according to our assessment. Passionate about green agriculture, the German MEP has personal experience in the field, having managed his family's 75 hectare organic farm near Kassel. In the European Parliament, he stands out through his role as rapporteur for multiple legislative procedures on GMOs. He is also coordinator of Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) for the Greens/EFA Group.

Placing third in this ranking, ECR Vice-Chair Veronika Vrecionová is one of the most active MEPs on agricultural topics. Especially preoccupied with the issue of rural development, the MEP is notably president of the Czech Association for Rural Renewal since 2017, as well as coordinator of Agriculture and Rural Development for the ECR. In the European Parliament, she is rapporteur on procedures such as “Equivalence of field inspections carried out on cereal seed-producing crops and equivalence of cereal seed produced in Ukraine” and shadow rapporteur on important pieces of legislation, including “The EU Action plan on Organic Agriculture” and “Statistics on agricultural input and output”.

Currently serving her second parliamentary term, German MEP Ulrike Müller (Renew) is the fourth most influential. She has extensive experience in agriculture, with a long history of running a family farm specialised in dairy production in Oberallgäu, as well as a diploma in farm management. She is also Coordinator of Agriculture and Rural Development for her parliamentary group. Müller is notably the shadow rapporteur on "A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system".

Fifth on our list stands Luxembourgish MEP Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA). Her influence comes mainly from her contribution as shadow rapporteur on the most important piece of legislation on agriculture at EU level - "A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system".

Trends by national groups

Two Germans (from very different parties) top the ranking of most influential MEPs on agri-food. This highlights the importance of this sector for the biggest EU power house. Notably, these two MEPs have very different views and are pushing the policy in very different directions, hence in a way we could say that their actions are balancing each other. 

A few other delegations tend to punch more above their weight when it comes to proportional influence. Apart from the Luxembourgish MEPs, which are on average very influential due to the high level of involvement of their MEP Tilly Metz, other MEPs from “greener” countries tend to over-perform on this topic, such as the Finns, the Irish, the Austrians and the Belgians, as it was the case during the initial part of the term. Conversely, MEPs from CEE countries (which have a different orientation towards agri-food topics in light of the current crisis, as visible in the debate in the Council) struggle to get important legislative roles on this topic, as their influence is mainly exerted through their leadership positions.

Trends by political groups

The EPP is the most influential group on agri-food topics, both in absolute terms but also proportionally to its size. While the group led by Manfred Weber has been struggling to shape these topics earlier in this EP term due to the focus on the environmental agenda, the changing shift in the narrative, especially since the war in Ukraine, seems to be benefitting the group. However, the Greens/EFA are in second place in terms of proportional influence on this topic, thus showing that debate on this topic remains very polarised, as also shown by our top 10 of most influential MEPs on agri-food. Importantly, while the Greens/EFA and The Left tend to be highly active on dedicated legislation and EP objections, data on the voting performance indicates that EPP and Renew are better positioned to win votes on this subject. Similarly to other policy areas, Renew performs particularly well in terms of leadership positions.

Note: An earlier version of this report placed Metz, Dorfmann and Hazekamp on spot 3rd, 4th and 5th (respectively), which was before we processed the latest available legislative activities information which triggered these slight adjustments in the ranking