On Wednesday 17 September, the European Commission presented the proposed amounts per EU country for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2028-2034.
A minimum amount of €293.7 billion is specifically earmarked for farm income support, divided between the Member States according to their share of the total CAP envelope, which includes direct aid and rural development appropriations, calculated on the basis of the year 2027.
“We have taken into account each EU country’s share of the CAP in 2027, and this same share has been applied to the minimum guaranteed amount for the period 2028-2034”, a Commission official explained on Wednesday. The Commission assures us that these are minimum amounts.
The countries receiving the largest envelopes (2028-2034) are France with €50.9 billion, Germany with €33.1 billion, Spain with €37.2 billion and Italy with €31 billion.
Other countries are also receiving substantial amounts, such as Poland with 24.6 billion, Romania with 16.6 billion and Greece with 14.6 billion.
Conversely, some Member States are receiving smaller envelopes, often due to the small size of their agricultural sector. This is the case for Malta with 0.1 billion euros, Luxembourg with 0.2 billion, Cyprus with 0.4 billion and Slovenia with 1.3 billion.
As a reminder, for the period 2021-2027, the planned envelopes are 50.0 billion for France, 33.6 billion for Spain, 34.4 billion for Germany, 24.9 billion for Italy and 21.5 billion for Poland.
The figures show significant increases for the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), bringing them closer to the European average. Poland is benefiting from a clear funding increase, while Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Croatia are also receiving increased amounts.
The external convergence rule requires that, by 2027, all Member States reach at least 90% of the European average for direct payments per hectare. This measure entails budgetary transfers from the historically large beneficiary countries to the new Eastern Member States.
Additional funds expected. EU countries will add to these amounts the funds available in their ‘national and regional partnership plans’. The Commission stresses that the Member States can mobilise part of the €453 billion available in the ‘national and regional partnership plans’, out of a total of €865 billion, to supplement the minimum CAP envelopes.
This funding can be used to reinforce income support measures over and above the amounts specifically allocated, to finance other CAP measures not directly linked to income, such as LEADER programmes, measures to promote innovation or specific measures for the outermost regions.
Finally, a €6.3 billion ‘safety net’ is planned for the period 2028-2034 to stabilise agricultural markets in the event of disruption.
The European ministers of agriculture will debate the post-2027 CAP on Monday 22 September (see EUROPE 13709/8).
Link to figures: https://aeur.eu/f/ihd (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)