Press release: BrightSpace 2nd Stakeholders' Retreat, 23-24 September 2025

https://brightspace-project.eu Funded by the European Union. Horizon Europe Grant Agreement No 101060075. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. PRESS RELEASE The project entitled the BrightSpace funded under Horizon Europe to design a roadmap for effective and sustainable strategies for assessing and addressing the challenges of EU agriculture to navigate within a Safe and Just Operating Space had its 2nd Stakeholders’ Retreat between 23 and 24 September 2025 in Leuven, Belgium. Advancing the BrightSpace Roadmap for a Safe and Just Future of EU Agriculture The BrightSpace project, funded under Horizon Europe, aims to support evidence-based policymaking by developing models and transition pathways that help European agriculture operate within a Safe and Just Operating Space (SJOS). This framework seeks to balance economic viability, social equity, and environmental sustainability, in the transformation of EU agri-food systems. The 2nd Stakeholders’ Retreat, organised by the Thünen Institute, brought together project partners, policymakers, and experts from across Europe for a lunch-to-lunch event of interactive discussions. The meeting served to review progress since the first retreat in 2024, explore analytical developments, and co-design future-oriented scenarios for EU agriculture. Reviewing the analytical foundation The retreat opened with an overview of the Business-as-Usual (BAU) baseline, which outlines projected developments for EU agriculture up to 2050 under current policies and moderate economic and demographic trends. This baseline provides a reference point for assessing longterm sustainability challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate impacts, productivity shifts, and food security. Alongside this, participants discussed the Challenging Baseline, which explores alternative conditions characterised by higher energy and input costs, moderate climate change impacts, and potential trade barriers. Comparing these baselines allows BrightSpace to examine the resilience of the agricultural sector under varying future pressures and policy responses. These analytical foundations form the basis for scenario modelling that will assist the identification of effective and equitable transition pathways for the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and related strategies. Designing effective and sustainable strategies for assessing and addressing the challenges of EU agriculture to navigate within a safe and just operating space 2nd Stakeholders’ Retreat, 23 -24 September 2025 24 September 2025 Funded by the European Union. Horizon Europe Grant Agreement No 101060075. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Co-developing transition narratives Building on the baseline analysis, participants engaged in a structured stakeholder consultation to co-develop four exploratory transition narratives for EU agriculture. These narratives were designed along two major uncertainty axes: 1. The degree of reliance on local versus global food markets, and 2. The balance between altruistic, collective approaches and narrow self-interest in policymaking and society. The four resulting narratives capture distinct future directions for European agriculture: •Go Global – a market-driven, free-trade scenario focused on competitiveness and growth; •Fortress EU – a protectionist, production-first approach prioritising self-sufficiency; •Food Sovereignty – a localised, environmentally conscious system focused on citizen needs; •Sustainable Competitiveness – a balanced model combining sustainability ambition with innovation and openness. During group exercises, stakeholders explored how agricultural, environmental, and trade policies might evolve under each scenario. Discussions examined the potential size and structure of the CAP budget, the role of eco-schemes and coupled payments, integration of carbon and bioenergy markets, and technological adaptation at farm level. The resulting qualitative insights provide essential input for the BrightSpace scenario modelling work, ensuring that quantitative simulations reflect realistic policy challenges and stakeholder perspectives. Further information BrightSpace Project coordination: Wageningen Social & Economic Research, The Hague, NL Contact: [email protected] | Website: www.brightspace-project.eu linkedin.com/company/brightspace-eu-project/ | https://bsky.app/profile/brightspace-project.eu BrightSpace Zenodo Community: zenodo.org/communities/brightspace-eu-project/ PRESS RELEASE https://brightspace-project.eu This retreat demonstrated the importance of combining scientific evidence with participatory foresight to co-create pathways for a more sustainable, resilient, and fair agricultural system in Europe. Strengthening stakeholder collaboration The retreat concluded with reflections on stakeholder engagement and next steps for the project. Participants emphasised the value of sustained dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and sector representatives to ensure that the project’s outputs remain policy-relevant and grounded in practical experience. Insights from the discussions will directly inform the next phase of BrightSpace, where scenario results will be quantified and assessed in the context of the Safe and Just Operating Space by 2050.