Action Project For Competitive & Sustainable Food Systems

The EU food and drink sector - Europe's largest manufacturing industry - is at a pivotal moment. As businesses invest in sustainable practices and innovation, they are also navigating growing regulatory complexity, rising costs, and geopolitical uncertainty that threaten long-term competitiveness.

But while the EU has adopted sector-specific plans for chemicals, steel, and automotives, food and drink manufacturers are still waiting.

That's why FoodDrinkEurope has called on the next European Commission to deliver a dedicated plan for the food and drink industry to champion the strategic role of processing and manufacturing in Europe, boost productivity and resilience, and ensure a fair and competitive food supply chain.

At the same time, industry is stepping up. This fourth edition of FoodDrinkEurope's Action Project for Competitive and Sustainable Food Systems reflects our long-term commitment to a responsible and resilient food future. It showcases how food and drink businesses are actively contributing to Europe's sustainable transition, while calling on policymakers to provide the enabling conditions - with competitiveness at the centre - to go further, faster.

Our Action Project is structured around our long term commitment to deliver on four core pillars:

1. Thriving Business - Driving competitiveness through support for SMEs, investment in skills, and public-private research to boost innovation and resilience
2. Healthier Living - Supporting consumers with clear information, innovative products, responsible marketing and reformulation tools to help enable healthier and more sustainable diets
3. Food Safety - Promoting science-based standards, industry toolkits and smarter regulation to uphold trust and consumer protection across Europe
4. Greener Planet - Helping businesses transition to net zero through targeted toolkits, partnerships and research

Each edition of the Action Project builds on progress made, while raising ambition. From capacity-building to innovation investment, from voluntary commitments to EU-wide collaboration, industry is delivering - but we cannot do it alone.

We call on the next European Commission to work with us to scale up what works, to support SMEs, simplify rules, strengthen innovation, and ensure a thriving, competitive and sustainable food system for the future.

The Action Project is our blueprint. With the right policy partnership, we can turn this shared ambition into lasting impact.