Spain adds third EU candidate to UN food body race

Spain has announced that it will put forward its Agriculture Minister, Luis Planas, to run the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Planas, a former ambassador to Morocco and Brussels, has served as Spain’s farm chief since 2018, and has long harboured ambitions for a more geopolitical role.

He joins a growing list of EU candidates to replace China’s Qu Dongyu as director general of FAO. Ireland has put forward the former EU Trade and Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, while Italy has nominated Maurizio Martina, currently Qu’s deputy.

“This is a Spanish candidacy, but one with a European vision, and it also reflects Spain’s belief in multilateralism and the United Nations at a time when food security is absolutely essential,” Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

Madrid’s announcement of a third EU name in the running for the FAO job comes amid warnings that the EU will weaken its hand if it does not settle on a single candidate.

Martin Selmayr, the EU’s ambassador to the Rome-based UN institutions, warned last week in a closed-door meeting that the EU needed to put forward one candidate.

The EU nominees are likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Turkey, Angola, and the US for the role, held by China since 2019.

A Spaniard, Alvaro Lario, currently leads the International Fund for Agricultural Development, though his mandate is coming up for renewal in early 2027.

(adm, mm)