On Thursday 5 March, European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture could vote on the need to guarantee €443.03 billion in funding for the 2028-2034 common agricultural policy (CAP).
Members of this committee are expected to adopt the draft opinion by Stefano Bonaccini (S&D, Italian) on the post-2027 CAP, intended for European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets, which is responsible for the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2028-2034.
The rapporteur has proposed financing CAP appropriations in the amount of €412.9 billion over seven years, compared with €387 billion over the period 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 13787/13).
According to the compromise amendments to be put to a vote on Thursday, Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture is advocating for a budget of €320.72 billion for CAP interventions (minimum income support), €106.91 billion for rural development, €6.3 billion for the Unity Safety Net (a new agricultural crisis reserve) and €9.1 billion for programmes specific to the outermost regions (POSEI).
Funding has also been earmarked for agriculture under Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).
A compromise was reached between European Parliament’s political groups to take into account annual inflation of 2.5%.
The draft opinion deplores the European Commission’s proposed reduction in CAP funding and the undermining of its two-pillar structure. It also criticises CAP’s inclusion in the ‘National and Regional Partnership Plans’ regulation, which could create uncertainty for beneficiaries and distortions between Member States.
The compromise amendments recommend a minimum budget of at least €48.7 billion for rural development, supplemented by the additional €45 billion planned under the mid-term review to support rural areas and agricultural investment.
The draft opinion also calls for strengthening the agricultural crisis reserve to enable a rapid response to market disturbances, climatic hazards or crises, and for preserving the POSEI programme for the outermost regions with a stable and predictable inflation-adjusted budget.
Finally, in terms of research and innovation, the text calls for maintaining the current level of agriculture and agri-food funding in the Horizon Europe programme and recommends reserving an adequate share of the European Competitiveness Fund to support strategic agricultural and rural investments.
Link to the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/kzu (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)