The European Commission has decided to fragment the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), cut its budget by 20% (while the overall EU budget has increased) and merge it into a single fund. The CAP will therefore be absorbed into a single fund together with cohesion policy, fisheries, border management, migration, internal security and social policy. A budget of €302 billion is proposed for the CAP, to which funds decided by member states could be added on a voluntary basis.
On Wednesday 16 July, European farming unions took to the streets to protest against this project. A demonstration that started in front of the European Parliament in Brussels and headed towards the European Commission.
"The European Commission's project will lead to a renationalisation of the CAP and a loss of European unity. Considering that we are in a single market, this is suicidal, because European farmers will be competing with one another, when they are already in a highly competitive global market. What is the European Commission trying to do? Kill the Common Agricultural Policy?" asked Benoît Cassart, farmer and MR (Renew) MEP, who took part in the demonstration.
On 18 July 2024, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen spoke to seek MEPs' confidence for a second term at the head of the EU executive. On that occasion, she pledged to guarantee a fair income for European farmers: "our farmers shape our landscapes. They shape the face of Europe. They are part of our culture. They guarantee our food security," the Commission President declared exactly one year ago. Absorbing the CAP into a mega-fund merged under the title "National and Regional Partnership Fund and Plans" does not at all seem to be heading in the direction of greater strategic autonomy in food matters. "Ursula von der Leyen is showing that she doesn't care about the farming sector," MEP Benoît Cassart pointed out.
And he adds: "the European Union is currently the world's leading exporter of agricultural products. It holds this position thanks to the Common Agricultural Policy and the diversified production of its member states. Weakening the CAP by renationalising it and cutting its budget is a gift to the enemies of the European Union, because we will produce less at home and import more of our food."
Against the backdrop of budget cuts for agriculture, Benoît Cassart questioned Commissioner Hansen in the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee about the possibility of greater market protection through European preference and the inclusion of reciprocity clauses in free trade agreements.
The budget of the Common Agricultural Policy has already been heavily affected by a decline in investment in recent years, mainly due to inflation. Yet the farming sector today stands at a crossroads, caught between climate demands, economic constraints, societal criticism and global competitive distortions. "Ursula von der Leyen must rethink her plans, listen to the farming world and the European Parliament to propose a strong and ambitious CAP," Benoît Cassart concluded.