EU Ministers struggle to keep the CAP independent from other financial uses

EU Ministers responsible for Agriculture agreed on new political guidance on the EU’s post-2027 agricultural policy. This non-binding text aims to further contribute to the vision the future European Commission College will be called upon to deliver in the first 100 days of its mandate. Romania was the only delegation that did not join the statement, due to the Romanian government’s dissatisfaction on the Common Agriculture Policy’s external convergence mechanism efficiency, which aims to gradually align payments between Member States.

The document adds a new highlight on food security compared to the text adopted under the EU Council Belgian Presidency semester. The Hungarian minister for Agriculture, Istvan Nagy, claimed all the priorities of the current Hungarian presidency results during a press conference on the margin of an EU Council meeting that convened the 27 ministers in Luxembourg. Budapest advocated making Agriculture a competitive, crisis-proof, sustainable, farmer-friendly, and knowledge-based sector.

Most importantly, Nagy said that the document adopted just on behalf of the EU Council presidency, given the Romanian Minister’s opt-out, delivers a clear message to the European Commission, which will soon be on its way to preparing a legislative proposal on the new CAP policy program. “Support to farmers cannot be reduced, and no farmer can be excluded from resources who bears extra burden,” Nagy added.

His words addressed the rumors that the European Commission should integrate the CAP funds into other relevant EU funding programs. “Every measure that would reduce support for farmers or resources and be allocated to different purposes would be a threat, a risk for Europe’s food security,” he further stated.

European Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski appeared before journalists relieved to see that conditioning Common Agricultural Policy resources funding to other external issues did not achieve consensus among Member States. “The Common Agricultural Policy funds should be predictable and not perturb farmers’ activity, which needs long-term planning,” Wojciechowski added.

The EU Council meeting was the opportunity for the EU Executive to inform on a new legislative proposal that will give Member States the possibility to use unspent funds planned under the second pillar of CAP, which is related to the development of rural areas to support farmers affected by the natural disasters like floods, animal such as avian and blue tong and droughts.

The initiative was conceived in light of the floods affecting Central Europe in late summer. The seven concerned Member States (Poland, Romania, Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Portugal, and Slovakia) will be allowed to reprogramme around 18 billion euro to help in climate-related disasters.

The Council also agreed on new catch limits in the Baltic Sea. The agreed Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and national quotas for 2025 align with scientific advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and include the maximum quantities each Member State will catch for each fish stock.

Catch limits for salmon in the central basin will be 36% lower, while the total allowable catch set for 2024 in the Gulf of Finland will also be maintained for 2025. Recreational fishing for cod was banned. In order to ensure sustainable stocks, environmental and socio-economic considerations were considered, as emphasized by Ministers.

The Council decided to increase fishing opportunities by 108% for the Central Baltic herring since its stock has increased “beyond the minimum sustainable level.” The Commission’s recommendations for herring in the Gulf of Riga and herring in the Gulf of Bothnia, increasing catch limits by 10% and 21%, respectively, were unchanged, in light of the positive scientific advice. The new limits concern plaice and sprat fishing opportunities.