Informal Consultation for Europe and Central Asia 2025

The Informal Consultation for Europe and Central Asia provides a strategic platform where representatives from the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and Members can interact, facilitating timely and inclusive discussions on key issues in the region. 

The main purpose of the Informal Consultation in 2025 is to shape and refine the FAO priorities for the Europe and Central Asia region for 2026–2027, in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Consultation aims at enabling an exchange of views among all Members considering shared regional ambitions considering the challenges and opportunities, as well as emerging issues to support the transformation of agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia.  

The FAO programme in the Europe and Central Asia region for 2024–2025 is guided by the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031, the reviewed Medium Term Plan (MTP) 2022–25 and Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) 2024–2025, and the priority areas of the region for 2024–2025 endorsed by the Thirty-fourth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (May 2024).

Europe and Central Asia continues to be affected by multiple crisis such as the war in Ukraine, the impacts of climate change and an increasing economic crisis as well as triple burden of malnutrition. These compound crises are deepening the rural vulnerabilities, threatening food security and slowing down recovery. Water stress remains a major challenge in all corners of the region, independent of differing geographies. To mitigate effects FAO continues to provide tailored, country driven support to countries to enhance resilience, focusing on the regional priorities. 

Responding to these circumstances and urgencies, FAO has reviewed its Strategic Framework 2022–31 and prepared the Medium Term Plan (MTP) 2026–29 and the Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) 2026–27, which is expected to be discussed at the FAO Conference in June 2025.

The results of the Informal Consultation, the final approved MTP 2026–29 and PWB 2026–27, and the Forty-fourth Session of the European Commission on Agriculture (ECA) will form the basis for the revised priority areas for 2026–2027 to be then endorsed by the Thirty-fifth Regional Conference for Europe in 2026; they will also serve as a cornerstone to guide the work planning in the region for the biennium 2026–2027. 

AGENDA

15 May - Day 1

• Opening

Speakers:

- Chairperson of the Thirty-fourth Session of the Regional Conference for Europe
- Minister of Agriculture of Hungary
- Chairperson of the Europe Regional Group
- FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative

• FAO 80th Anniversary and Exhibition
• Regional Foresight and Priorities for the 2026–2027 Biennium – plenary and breakout sessions

16 May - Day 2

• Regional Foresight and Priorities for the 2026–2027 Biennium – plenary sessions
• FAO Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Livestock Transformation
• Draft agenda for the Forty-fourth Session of European Commission on Agriculture and draft provisional agenda for the Thirty-fifth Session of the Regional Conference for Europe