A full session of the European Parliament has voted to back funding for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) at around the 2022-2027 level and to take account of inflation.

The vote is a rejection of the proposals put forward by the European Commission last summer, which envisaged a 20% cut in CAP funding.

The vote leaves the ball in the member states' court, as they go to agree their common position on the next EU long term budget - the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - for 2028-2024.

When the member states do that, negotiations between the parliament and the member states can begin.

The parliament adopted its budget proposal - which mirrors the recent opinion by its budget committee - by 370 votes to 201, with 84 abstentions.

The agreed text expresses allocated funding according to two metrics: current prices, which is the nominal figure; and constant prices, which reflects the value for money after inflation is taken into account.

These constant prices use 2025 has a baseline to give an idea of how much the future CAP funding will actually be worth.

The parliament's proposal calls for €433.01 billion in current prices to be put towards CAP for 2028-2034. In 2025 money, this would be €385.12 billion, a figure that is roughly in line with what was allocated to the present CAP.

Both of these figures are considerable increased on what the commission proposed last summer, which were €293.70 billion in current prices, or €261.01 billion in 2025 constant prices.

The parliament's plan appears to divide CAP funding along the lines of the familiar two pillar system, rejecting the commission plan to scrap that long-standing structure of CAP.

The text adopted by the parliament today (Tuesday, April 28) proposes to allocate €320.3 billion in current prices for income support, or €284.65 billion in 2025 constant prices.

Separately, but also under CAP, the parliament is looking to commit €106.41 billion to "rural areas". In 2025 constant prices this works out at €94.88 billion.

If we compare the parliament's 2025 constant price figures - across both funding areas - for the next CAP to the two pillars of the current CAP, we see the figures are similar: Pillar I of the current CAP was allocated €291.1 billion and Pillar II was allocated €95.5 billion.

The parliament agrees with the commission's proposal to include, within the CAP envelope, a 'Unity Safety Net' to provide support in case of serious market disturbance.

This safety net will be allocated €6.3 billion in current prices, or €5.6 billion in 2025 constant prices.

Commenting on the parliament's vote today, one of the leading MEPs working on the future EU budget, Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan, said: "With today’s vote, the European Parliament is setting the tone in terms of ambition and timing. We have adopted a strong position on the next budget, balancing new and traditional priorities.

"We call on the [member states] to step up, take our proposals forward, and agree on a strong, timely budget. We are ready to engage" the MEP added.