In a letter sent to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday 17 April, the presidents of the EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) express their concern about recent discussions on the reallocation of EU funds into a single country fund.
This change to the EU’s 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) would eliminate the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), “the pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)”, according to the letter (https://aeur.eu/f/ggj ). Such a move would change the governance of the next MFF and severely damage the CAP, which remains “the cornerstone of Europe’s competitiveness and food sovereignty”, according to Copa-Cogeca (see EUROPE 13580/10).
Dismantling the CAP’s two-pillar structure and adopting a single national programme in each Member State will, Copa-Cogeca continues, contribute to “further loss of commonality in European policies”, with “far-reaching” consequences for food security and production. Copa-Cogeca reiterates its call for an “increased and dedicated” CAP budget. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)