The European Commission's proposals for the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) risk creating uncertainty and delaying funds, according to the European Court of Auditors.

The EU’s financial watchdog has provided its opinion on the draft laws which would govern the bloc’s agriculture, food and farming from 2028 to 2034.

The opinion issued today (Monday, February 9), provides the European Parliament and the Council of the EU with independent expert advice on the commission’s proposals for the CAP and Common Market Organisation (CMO).

It forms part of a series of opinions from the auditors on the proposed next EU long-term budget or Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF).

CAP Proposals

Last July, the EU Commission announced its proposal to replace the traditional two-pillar structure of the CAP with a single European fund, involving a budget of around €865 billion.

This marks the first time since the CAP was founded in 1962 that there would be no specific EU fund for agriculture.

The funding would be delivered by members states through individual National and Regional Partnership (NRP) Plans.

The CAP would receive the minimum ringfenced budget allocation of €293.7 billion for farmers’ income support, while other CAP measures such as the LEADER rural development programme would be funded from the non-ringfenced amount.

Auditors

Iliana Ivanova, the member of the European Court of Auditors in charge of the opinion, told a press briefing that there is ongoing uncertainty over the final CAP budget post 2027.

She said the exact figure will only be known once all member states have adopted their NRP plans.

Ivanova said this would cause unpredictability for farmers about how much funding they can expect.

She said it also makes it challenging to compare CAP spending under the current EU budget with the potential allocation beyond 2027.

Among the "key risks" identified by auditors with the current proposal is a complex CAP structure and decision making process, which will include the EU Council and NRPs.

They said this will risk creating uncertainty and delaying the delivery of funds, and could ultimately undermine the commission's goal of simplification.

CAP

The auditors welcomed that the proposal has relatively few changes to the types of CAP measures available to member states.

Countries will be given flexibility to design their plans so they address their individual challenges, including tailoring them to farmers’ needs.

However, Ivanova said this also creates a risk for the ‘common’ character of the CAP.

"A significant divergence among member states, may hamper the alignment of CAP spending with EU priorities and lead to distortion of competition and an uneven playing field," she said.

The opinion calls on the commission to clearly outline what its steering role entails to "ensure that member states’ plans focus on CAP objectives in a coherent manner".

The auditors warned that simplification should "not come at the cost of accountability"

"Funding needs to be traceable from the EU accounts down to final beneficiaries, such as farmers, in particular when payment not linked to costs are applied," Ivanova said.

The opinion noted the commission's "efforts towards simplification", including a suggestion to merge eco-schemes and agri-environmental and climate measures.

"However, all these efforts may be undermined by the fact that the CAP interventions are scattered across several legal proposals.

"This may create confusion for national authorities and beneficiaries when trying to understand and implement the regulatory provisions," Ivanova said.

The auditors point to a lack of clarity about which CAP measures should be based on outputs (by hectare or animal payments) and which on milestones and targets, potentially leading to inconsistency between EU countries.

Farmers

Ivanova told journalists that farmers face uncertainties beyond their control every day and "policy uncertainty should not be one of them".

"If I had to summarise the proposal in just one sentence, it would be: The proposal on the table is not completely ready yet to be harvested," she said.