European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen has backed farming organisations’ calls for an increased Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget in the face of pushback from what he and others have termed “frugal” member states unwilling to pitch more into the next EU budget’s spending pot.

The Commission's first proposals last summer ringfenced just €300bn for CAP income supports, but moves since have seen the Commission’s plans for CAP’s EU-funded spending pot rise to closer to €400bn, according to Brussels’ figures.

Even these proposals to cut ringfenced farmer funding have received opposition from countries such as Germany, which says that the next EU budget should be shaved down as their national budgets are under pressure.

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Speaking on Tuesday, Commissioner Hansen referenced a call from Irish Farmers Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman to allocate €500bn in EU funds to the CAP as a demand he had similarly heard from German farmers.

“Of course, this is not exactly a call to make to the Commission at this stage, it is a call they need to make to the member states, to heads of state and governments,” he told RTÉ Radio 1 on Tuesday.

“I believe they are right - we need a strong budget for CAP - the challenges we have spoken about are huge and food security is not something we should take for granted.

“I believe we should remind ourselves that agriculture is not a policy from the past, it is a policy of the future, because in 20 years we will need to be able to eat sufficiently and healthy.”

The comments came ahead of a planned visit by Commissioner Hansen to the 2026 National Ploughing Championships at Screggan, Co Offaly, on Thursday.

'A lot to lose'

The Commissioner said that 30 million EU jobs rely on the agricultural sector when agriculture’s contribution to employment counts the jobs the sector sustains outside the farmgate, as he said that “there is a lot to lose if we don’t handle this with care”.

The commission chief was keen to push responsibility for a 24% reduction in CAP’s ringfenced back towards national governments, as he said the spending plans were based on consultation with the member states that must fund the EU’s budget.

“You can only share the pie that has been served,” he said of the contributions the Commission’s budget will receive from member states’ tax takes.

However, the Luxembourger played down the extent that the proposed EU budget reform will have at farm-level, stating that: “I believe a lot of farming organisations as well are looking to turn the numbers around to make them seem a little bit worse [than they are].”