A key committee of the European Parliament has officially called for the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to be allocated €433 billion for the 2028-2034 period.

The parliament's budget committee adopted its official negotiating mandate on the EU's long-term budget - the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - in a meeting today (Wednesday, April 15).

The committee's position was adopted in a vote by 26 votes in favour and nine against, with five abstentions.

The position of the budget committee will be highly influential in the wider parliament's position when it goes to negotiate the shape of the next MFF and CAP with the Council of the EU (council of ministers).

The initial proposals for the next CAP were published last summer by the European Commission, which envisages an overall cut in funding of 20% compared to the current CAP.

The budget committee's counterproposal would add €139 billion to the commission's plans.

The committee's position paper says that the the committee "deplores the proposed reduction in funding for the post-2027 CAP [and] calls for a dedicated and robust budget for the CAP in the next MFF to be ringfenced with an amount €433.01 billion.

That figure would be in current prices, meaning it covers the impact of inflation. Expressed in constant prices, that funding would be equivalent in value to €385.12 billion in 2025.

The committee said that this funding figure is required to ensure food security and sovereignty; competitiveness; a fair standard of living for farmers; and to enable them to transitionto more sustainable practices.

The committee's position paper also expressed support for continued support for rural development and on-farm investment, indicating support for the traditional two-pillar model of the CAP.

One of the leading MEPs on the parliament budget committee for the future EU budget, Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan, said: "We call for reinforced, dedicated funding for farmers and regions, firmly rejecting any attempt to merge or dilute these core priorities."

Another key MEP on the committee for the next MFF, Portuguese MEP Carla Tavares, commented that CAP and other social polices "are not relics of the past".

"They are the backbone of European solidarity. New challenges cannot erase responsibilities. We want a budget that works for regions, beneficiaries and for people," Tavares added.

Irish reaction

The only Irish MEP on the budget committee is Fine Gael's Nina Carberry, who is a substitute member of the committee.

She welcomed the committee's position, saying it has backed "a clear position in favour of an extra €139 billion for farm policy" in current prices, compared to the commission's cuts.

Carberry said this is the strongest signal to date that the European Parliament is responding to calls to support farmers facing growing pressures.

"This is a major milestone in the budget negotiations. We are sending a clear message that food security, farm incomes and rural communities must remain at the centre of the next EU budget," she said.

“We cannot keep asking farmers to do more with less. If we want to increase food production, support the next generation and advance regional development, then we need a CAP budget that maintains at least the current level of support in real terms”, the Midlands-Northwest MEP added.

Carberry also welcomed what she said is the committee's support for maintaining the CAP as a distinct, two-pillar structure for direct payments and rural development.

She said the committee's vote increases pressure on the 27 EU member states ahead of negotiations on the future CAP.