EU farm ministers vow to fight Brussels’ budget shakeup

BRUSSELS — Europe’s agriculture ministers have a message for the European Commission: Hands off the billions of euros of public money that go to farmers each year.

The ministers, led by Italy and Greece, used their monthly summit in Brussels on Monday to push back hard against any attempt to fold the bloc’s €386.6 billion Common Agricultural Policy into a broader, more flexible EU funding model.

Their warning comes just weeks before the Commission unveils its post-2027 proposal for the EU’s next seven-year budget and the next chapter of the CAP, both expected in July. The message was pointed: This is their policy, and they won’t let it be redesigned by bean counters in Brussels.

“The single fund would be the end of the Common Agricultural Policy,” Portuguese Agriculture Minister José Manuel Fernandes said, rejecting Commission ideas to merge farm and regional development funds into a single national envelope. “What has success must not be undone.”

The “single fund” idea, floated in internal Commission talks, would reframe how EU money is allocated, potentially tying farm spending more directly to broad political goals such as defense or digital transition.

Farm ministers see it as a direct threat to the bloc’s shared pot of money they help control, warning it would make it easier to siphon money away from farmers, and harder to ensure agriculture remains integral to the EU project.

A joint paper backed by 14 countries, including France, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Latvia and others echoed that fear, saying: “Another substantial reform will put the much-needed stability and predictability of the agricultural sector and food security at risk.” The ministers insist the CAP must remain “separate, dedicated and independent,” with its two-pillar structure intact.

Spain’s Luis Planas was unequivocal: “We will continue fighting in the Council and in the [European] Parliament,” he said. “I hope the Commission does not make the mistake of putting forward a proposal that fails to meet the basic expectations of the sector.”

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously called for a “more flexible” EU budget focused on newer priorities such as artificial intelligence and climate resilience. “The new normal is anything but normal,” she said earlier this month.

Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen, who has pushed back against the budget revamp, tried to calm the waters, telling ministers the CAP remains “crucial” and pledging to maintain its “integrity,” while also promising a version that would be “more streamlined and targeted.”