Former EU ambassador Lars Anell argues the EU’s agricultural and regional policies have become excessively expensive and ineffective. He advocates for a return to national control of agricultural and regional policy, allowing each EU member state to manage its own affairs in these areas. Anell proposes reallocating funds currently used for these policies towards investments in advanced research and genuinely pan-European infrastructure projects. He believes this shift would foster innovation and more efficient resource allocation. The current system, he contends, has reached a dead end and is no longer serving the interests of Europe. This opinion piece suggests a significant restructuring of EU funding priorities. Anell’s proposal challenges the foundational principles of the Common Agricultural Policy and regional development funds.