The European Commission wants to allocate less money from the regular EU budget for the common agricultural policy in the coming years than in previous years. However, the EU Commissioners will cut less than they had initially planned, as revealed by their multiannual budget 2021 – 2027 presented on Wednesday.
They are also cutting less than what ministers and heads of government had proposed at recent summits. In February, EU President Michel wanted a 14 percent cut in his (now rejected) compromise. Now, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Agriculture Commissioner Wojciechowski want to limit the cut to 9 percent—provided that ministers and heads of government approve this new financing in the coming weeks.
With their proposal, the 27 EU Commissioners are backtracking on their 2018 plan to cut about thirty percent from structural and rural development funds within the Agriculture budget. Currently, 90 billion euros are available for those funds.
Promotion
The new European Commission will need those funds in the coming years to sustainably develop agriculture (especially in Eastern and Central Europe) according to the Green Deal policy. Part of the regular agricultural subsidies can be "restructured" from "per hectare" payments towards "income support," but details on this are not yet known.
Despite the nearly 10 percent cut, the European Commission can still launch a lot of new policy (Green Deal, Farm to Fork, biodiversity, and food safety) because around 45 billion euros from the corona emergency fund will be added to Agriculture. This also acknowledges that the agricultural sector can benefit from EU support from the 'economic' corona megafund of 750 billion euros.
There are conditions tied to the allocation of that corona money; they are not blank checks. Member States must design their own recovery plans but must comply with the priorities advocated by the EU, such as climate objectives.
According to LTO Nederland, the European Commission’s decision to allocate less money for the common agricultural policy in the coming years runs contrary to Brussels’ sustainability ambitions. This is LTO’s conclusion after examining the European plans and documents. Further investments are necessary for the success of sustainability efforts and the protection of food security, the agricultural organization says.
The interest group calls the plans 'ambitious' but sees the 'far-reaching European sustainability ambitions' as 'contradictory to the shrinking CAP budget.' It is difficult to explain that the European Commission demands more while structurally providing less in return, according to LTO.
The Belgian Farmers' Union also views the proposal very critically. “The agricultural budget has been weakened. Beneath cosmetic increases lies a gaping 10 percent cut. Food security and further sustainability in agriculture require additional investments,” the Farmers' Union said. The union thoroughly studied the European Commission’s new proposal but is not pleased with the amounts allocated for agriculture.
The Belgian agricultural organization points out that the corona crisis clearly showed that food security and availability within the EU are not self-evident. At the same time, the Belgian agricultural organization acknowledges that ecological ambitions for agriculture and horticulture are rising due to the launch of the European biodiversity and 'Farm to Fork' strategies.
The new multiannual budget also positively affects the rural development fund—the second pillar of the CAP—with an increase of 15 billion euros from the mega corona fund. The proposed allocation for the second pillar is now €90 billion, while direct payments to farmers and market-related expenditures, which together form the CAP’s first pillar, would increase by another €4 billion, totaling €258 billion.