In the German Bundestag, the government factions and the opposition had a tame debate on the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture earlier this week. Much of the current policy will be continued next year, and there is (still?) no money for a major, far-reaching transition.
The total 2025 budget for the BMEL ministry is around 6.3 billion euros, but 150 million euros still need to be saved to reduce the federal government's budget deficit. These cuts affect various parts of agricultural policy, including rural development programs.
There are major financial challenges for the years to come. The multi-year forecast by Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) focuses mainly on reforms in livestock farming and agriculture. He calls these essential to meet European standards for climate and animal welfare.
However, this transition is expensive, and there is insufficient budget to provide subsidies for it. Both the government factions and the opposition parties agree that government support is needed for the transition, but they still disagree on how it should be paid for. Özdemir believes that VAT on all food products could be increased by a few percent; others believe that there should be a separate surcharge ('meat tax') on the retail price of 'red meat'.
A third option is to raise income tax: then all Germans would pay, not just meat eaters. Özdemir called on the centre-left coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP to finally make a decision on this.
During the debate, the opposition sharply criticized the agricultural budget. The CDU/CSU, led by Friedrich Merz, criticized the lack of ambition and called the proposed reforms half-hearted. According to Merz, the reforms should be accelerated with concrete financial support for the agricultural sector.
Despite the criticism and financial constraints, Özdemir indicated that he is sticking to his vision for a sustainable agricultural sector. He pointed out that the reforms are not only needed to comply with European rules but also to improve the competitiveness of German agriculture in the long term.
Because the previously announced tightening of laws against animal suffering has been postponed in the European Union, Özdemir submitted his own proposal to the Bundestag last week. He also did so with his own German bill for limiting the use of chemicals in agriculture; he does not want a ban.
The new animal welfare law provides for, among other things, stricter penalties and fines for animal abuse, a ban on anonymous animal trade, an extinction construction for the purchase of circus animals and a reduction in the number of animal experiments in laboratories. The ban – in ten years’ time – on keeping (tied up) cattle indoors all year round will not apply to farmers with fewer than fifty animals.