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Make food affordable for all

Make food affordable for all

To the European Commission, the European Parliament, national governments and competition and consumer protection authorities across Europe:

Petition

Food should be affordable for everyone. But prices keep rising and the biggest supermarket chains have enormous power over what we pay at the checkout.

We need governments to make sure everyone can afford to put food on the table:

  • Stop greedy price rises. Give consumer and competition authorities the power to investigate and act when companies push up prices unfairly.
  • Show us where our money goes. Make food prices and profits more transparent
  • Stop supermarket giants from calling the shots. Make sure a handful of giant chains can't decide what farmers earn and what families pay.

Why is this important?

The coffee. The bread. The eggs. Every time another item is scanned, you hear that beep and wonder: how much will my weekly shop cost this time? And it’s not just you.

Food prices have surged for millions of other Europeans. In Italy alone, they've risen by almost 25% since 2021. And experts expect grocery prices to keep climbing this year. [1]

But what your coffee, bread and eggs cost, is not a reflection of what it cost to put them on your plate. It’s the price supermarkets set, often overcharging you, so they can make an extra profit. [2] And governments are letting them get away with it.

Giant corporations like Carrefour, Lidl, and Tesco have enormous power over what we pay. [3] They can choose to feed their customers, or feed their bulging profits.

Our governments have a choice too. They can protect people, or leave supermarket giants to call the shots.

And we know it's possible to make them play fair. In Greece, companies have been fined for breaking rules designed to stop excessive profits from rising prices. Austria and Sweden are also taking action to protect people from soaring food prices. [4]

Supermarkets aren't above the law. And right now, Europe is writing rules that could shrink or inflate our weekly shopping budgets.

Will you sign the petition to demand EU action on food prices?

References:

[1] https://en.agcm.it/en/media/press-releases/2026/1/IC58 ; https://www.istat.it/en/press-release/note-on-italian-economy-september-october-2025/ ; https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/02/10/most-europeans-expect-a-more-rapid-increase-in-grocery-prices-in-2026 ; https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/07/16/why-this-summers-heatwaves-could-raise-food-prices-next-year

[2] In Sweden, a 2025 investigation found that supermarkets raised the prices of several basic foods more than their costs had increased. In Austria, a 2025 comparison found that the same branded foods cost an average of 27% more than in Germany. (Sources are in German and Swedish) https://www.konkurrensverket.se/informationsmaterial/nyhetsarkiv/2025/fortsatt-stabil-lonsamhet-trots-rekordhoga-matpriser/ ; https://www.arbeiterkammer.at/beratung/konsument/EinkaufundRecht/Marken-Lebensmittel.html

[3] Across Europe, grocery shopping is dominated by a small number of giant retailers. In Germany, four supermarket groups control around 85% of food retail. In Sweden, four groups control 98.5% of the grocery market. In France, six major groups account for more than 85% of French grocery retail, which the Senate describes as an oligopoly. And in the UK, Tesco alone controls 28% of the grocery market. https://monopolkommission.de/en/reports/special-reports/special-reports-on-own-initiative/486-special-report-84-competition-in-the-food-supply-chain.html ; https://www.konkurrensverket.se/en/news/2026/new-guidance-to-promote-more-effective-competition-in-the-grocery-retail-sector/ ; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/food-statistics-pocketbook/food-statistics-in-your-pocket ; https://www.euromonitor.com/supermarkets-in-the-netherlands/report ; https://www.senat.fr/rap/r25-764/r25-7647.html

[4] In Greece, the government has capped supermarket profit margins and introduced fines of up to €5 million for companies that exceed the limit. In Austria, the government has introduced new measures to make food prices more transparent and strengthen controls over the food sector. And in Sweden, the government has temporarily halved food VAT to make groceries cheaper. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/greece-cap-profit-margins-fuel-supermarkets-pm-says-2026-03-11/ ; https://www.bwb.gv.at/en/news/news-archive/detail/strengthening-competition-afca-director-general-welcomes-government-initiative ; https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2026/07/momsen-pa-livsmedel-ska-ses-over-i-ny-utredning/ ; https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/agri-food-supply-chain/afco_en