Unlocking the Transition: Barriers and Levers to the Expansion of Agroecology in the European Union

The expansion of agroecology across Europe is constrained by a complex set of interrelated barriers spanning policy, economic, technological, social, and environmental dimensions. Drawing on stakeholder perspectives from agroecological initiatives, we identified some key barriers: awareness gaps, shifting policy priorities, inconsistent regulatory frameworks across EU, national, and local levels, complex administrative procedures, short term funding cycles, subsidy schemes which remain poorly adapted to agroecological systems, market barriers -including limited dedicated outlets, weak consumer recognition of added value-, and unfair competition from low standard imports. Fuurther challenges include labour shortages, inadequate and unaffordable machinery, insufficient infrastructure for short supply chains, and limited participatory, context specific research. Despite these barriers, agroecology benefits from important leverage points: motivated farmers, emerging generations open to change, and collaborative structures that foster trust, knowledge co creation, and experimentation. Building on these findings, we suggest the following policy recommendations: coherent and long term supportive policies, reallocation of financial resources, improved labour conditions, investment in adapted infrastructure and technologies, fair market development, and strengthened participatory research frameworks to enable durable agroecological transitions.