However, during their two-day monthly meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers did not take a position on the abolition of agricultural subsidies after 2028, as is already suggested in (yet unapproved) Brussels official notes.
The European Parliament in Strasbourg is already clearing the way for such a possible reorganization of the EU budget with the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), as recently proposed by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. He believes that the EU must become much more economically competitive on the world stage and thinks Brussels can 'streamline back' many tasks and powers to the individual EU countries.
Such a 're-nationalization' across many policy areas would bear great similarities to the national strategic plans (NSPs) that have been used in agricultural policy for several years. But many agriculture ministers were cautious. The Austrian minister Totschnig said that the European agricultural policy 'does not need a revolution,' but that European farmers need certainty.
The German minister Özdemir said that 'this entire MFF discussion has ended up on the wrong meeting table.' He emphasized that the EU countries have not yet made any statement about such a future scenario after 2028.
Another sensitive issue was the trade agreement with the Mercosur countries. Some EU countries say that the import of agricultural products from South America will put pressure on the competitive position of European farmers. France in particular threatens to still block the ratification of the treaty. Other EU countries, such as Spain and Germany, have a much more nuanced stance.
In Brussels, it has now been suggested to establish a ‘damage compensation scheme’ for farmers who can prove they are actually suffering losses due to Mercosur imports. The influential agricultural umbrella organization Copa-Cogeca has already rejected this. Reportedly, the European Commission wants to officially ratify the Mercosur treaty at the G20 summit in November. French farmers have already called for renewed protests.