The EU’s revised draft Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 considerably strengthens funding for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told the press on Tuesday 2 June.
“A total of 391 billion euros is proposed for agriculture and rural development, which shows their importance in the EU”, the Commissioner said. It is therefore proposed to increase the budget by 6.6 billion, or about 2% of the total, compared to the amount arrived at for 2020 funding levels. “It is also 26.4 billion higher than the Commission’s proposal presented in May 2018”, Mr Wojciechowski said.
Addressing the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture on 2 June, Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that the Commission is proposing to increase the budget of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) by 15 billion euros (16.5 euros billion in current prices) to help rural areas make the necessary structural changes in line with the European Green Deal.
The ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy is the guiding star, stressed Mr Hahn (see EUROPE 12491/3). According to him, the proposals will also make it possible to strengthen crisis management tools in agriculture, to invest in the modernisation of the agricultural sector and to make farms “green, digital and (...) resistant”.
The Budget Commissioner urged Member States to swiftly accept the proposed package in order to have a strong common response to the crisis. Furthermore, he called on MEPs to also conclude their work on the post-2020 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The revised MFF proposal for the CAP, which amounts to 391.4 billion euros in current prices, thus represents an increase of 7% compared to the May 2018 proposal (365 billion euros). In addition, CAP direct aid will be increased by four billion euros, while the EAFRD will be increased by an additional five billion euros.
The additional 15 billion euros for rural areas will be added to Member States’ allocations for the years 2022 to 2024, in proportion to the rural development allocations proposed in 2018.
Fisheries. European Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said that as part of the EU’s recovery plan, the post-2020 European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) would be strengthened by an additional 500 million euros.
“This is an increase of more than 8% over the budget originally proposed for 2018”, he said. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)