At the Agriculture Council on Monday 13 July, ten Member States (Italy, supported by Czechia, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) will send a clear message to the European Commission: they will ask it to reconsider the sharp cut in the budget for programmes promoting agricultural products planned for 2027, particularly for multi-country programmes.
These countries say they support the Commission’s objectives (strengthening the resilience of the agri-food sector, diversifying markets, improving the participation of small organisations and ensuring better geographical balance), but believe that the planned budget is incompatible with these ambitions.
According to forecasts presented by the Commission on 23 June, the total budget for promotional activities would fall from €160 million in 2026 to €112 million in 2027. Funding for SIMPLE programmes (submitted by a single Member State) would fall from €100 million to €92 million, while those for MULTI programmes would be reduced from €60 million to €20 million, a two-thirds cut.
These MULTI programmes enable organisations from several Member States to cooperate, develop cross-border partnerships and jointly promote European agri-food products on the internal market and for export.
This group of countries argues that such a reduction in funding risks limiting market diversification, weakening the sector’s resilience to geopolitical crises and market volatility, as well as negatively impacting employment and rural development.
The ten Member States are asking the Commission: to reconsider the overall budget planned for 2027; to guarantee sufficient funding for SIMPLE and MULTI programmes; and to avoid a sharp reduction in funding for MULTI programmes by maintaining a level of funding as close as possible to that of 2026.
According to these countries, the €48 million cut in the total budget and, above all, the two-thirds reduction in the budget for MULTI programmes are incompatible with the Commission’s stated objectives.
The Commission is trying to reassure stakeholders, stating that the amounts under consideration are not final. An amending letter is expected in October. Until then, the institution intends to explore all possible avenues to secure additional funding (see EUROPE 13901/8).
Link to the note: https://aeur.eu/f/mtv (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)