New proposals on funding the 2028-2034 CAP show no reprieve for looming budget cuts for future farm schemes.
Member states’ draft position on the next EU budget maintains the approximately 22% reduction, or €94bn, in ringfenced funds for the next CAP, in a draft text published by the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU last weekend.
The plans would increase the overall size of the EU budget from current levels, while reducing dedicated farmer funding, although non-CAP spending has been cut from the levels initially proposed by the European Commission last year.
The CAP and overall budget decreases prompted scathing criticism from leading MEPs and farming organisations, which have called for funding increases for the CAP and not cuts. However, the six frugal member states who pay the bulk of the EU budget that are looking to radically scale back EU spending have said far more must be shaved off the post-2027 plans.
