The Russian invasion of Ukraine has made global food security a top priority for the EU, alongside the security and energy crisis it is already dealing with. In an increasingly volatile international environment, sufficient capacity for crisis response is fundamental if the EU wants to be a credible geopolitical player.

In this paper, we look at the EU’s response to the global food crisis – particularly in its relationship with heavily-impacted African countries – as an example of how swiftly and adequately it can adapt to crises. We also highlight opportunities for the EU to improve its crisis response. We find that the EU’s response to the food crisis has been limited compared to the scale of need and the EU’s own objectives. Ultimately, support to Ukraine took precedence. In addition, the need to respond to multiple crises stretched the EU’s capacity. The EU could make better use of the Team
Europe approach to stimulate cooperation among European countries and institutions. It could also use its Global Gateway strategy to mobilise finance at scale to tackle the root causes of food insecurity, for example under the Africa-Europe Investment Package. In addition, the EU and its member states should deliver on their commitments to African countries when it comes to food security, mobilise financing – including special drawing rights – and adopt a more locally-owned, coordinated response with improved use of development financing tools.