The European Commission’s plans for the next long-term EU budget had sought to reduce the dedicated funding for agriculture by around 24% when they were announced last year.
This would have left an €90bn-sized hole in the funds that countries had to pay for key farm schemes in the 2028-2034 CAP, which will run on the same timeframe as the next CAP.
The CAP’s current standalone budget was also to be amalgamated with other budget funds – such as those for migration, social programmes and fisheries – a move that saw Brussels arguing that it had not reduced the funds available for any farm scheme.
The Commission said that member states would receive an envelope of EU funding and allowed to decide on which schemes, programmes or policies it spends this EU money on, whether in agriculture or elsewhere.
However, since these proposals emerged last July, there have been two critical rollbacks on the Commission’s initial position.
It has since said that some 10% of the unallocated funds that were due to be allocated to member states to fund whichever policies they deem to be of highest priority should instead be dedicated to spending on rural areas – this portion of funding equates to around €45bn.
The Commission also said that €48bn that was to remain unallocated until halfway through the 2028-2034 budgetary cycle, should be available for allocation straight away when the new budget kicks in – this funding represents another €48bn.
These figures equate to over the €90bn cut that had initially been proposed for the CAP, but it is likely all of this funding will not be solely dedicated for agriculture.
Revised budgetary figures are expected for July that will clarify the true extent of these two Commission moves to backpedal on budget reforms.
