One of the most important members of the European Parliament (MEP) in the coming negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has said he wants the two pillar structure of the policy retained.

CAP currently allocates funding in Pillar I, which covers direct payments, and Pillar II, which covers agri-environmental and on-farm investment schemes, among other measures.

The proposals for the future EU long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - which were published last summer - proposed not only ending this structure but also bundling money for farmers into wider National and Regional Partnerships Plans, which would cover not only farm payments but also other funding priorities.

This could leave farmers competing for funds from an altogether smaller pot of money.

Overall, the money ringfenced for farm payments is 20% less than it was for the current CAP budget, according to the proposals.

German MEP Norbert Lins is the lead negotiator on the future CAP for the European People's Party (EPP), which is the largest party in the European Parliament, and which includes Fine Gael among its members.

He was in Ireland last week for a number of engagements with his fellow MEPs from Ireland, including a conference organised by Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Cowen.

Cowen, as the lead CAP negotiator in the parliament for the Renew Europe group, is Lins' opposite number for Renew Europe.

Speaking to Agriland at last week's event, Lins highlighted the duel issues of the CAP budget, and its design or "architecture".

He also highlighted payments for young farmers as one of his priorities.

He told Agriland: "So first, it's the question about the budget, we call for a budget which is at least the same budget we had in the current period, and we have to include the inflation.

"We need an agricultural budget, a CAP budget, for the next period with about €420-€430 billion," Lins added, telling the meeting that the future budget must account for inflation that has taken place over the course of the current CAP.

On the CAP design, he said: "The next one is on the architecture. We don't agree with the new architecture presented by the commission in the last year.

"We need, more or less, the current structure, with the first pillar with the direct payments, and second pillar with the agri-environmental, the investment sector, and the co-financed second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy," the MEP added.

The EPP lead on CAP said that he would consider the views of farming organisations in the various member states in developing his report for the EPP on farm payments.

Lins said: "Now, I'm in the phase to listen to people, to listen to representatives, of the different member states, of the different farming associations, to collect ideas for my draft report.

"So this is one event where I have the opportunity to look into the different structures, the different climate conditions which farmers are faced [with] in the different member states of the European Union," he added.