President of the Commission, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Commissioner for the Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration,
European Coordination Via Campesina expresses its deep concern at the recent political signals regarding the Agricultural Budget for the period 2028-2034 as well as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Small and medium-sized farmers call for a stronger budget and reject any possible budgetary cuts, which would be tantamount to abandoning the European agricultural sector and exacerbating the crisis that farmers are already going through, while undermining the objectives of food sovereignty, agro-ecological transition and climate justice. We urge you to consider the conclusions of the Strategic Dialogue, where stakeholders across the entire agri-food value chain are calling for “a dedicated and proportionate budget”.
ECVC would like to highlight the serious risks of a renationalisation of the CAP. Firstly, the demise of the CAP in this way would call into question the credibility of the EU and the European project. It would lead to worsening inequalities between European farmers and increase deadly competition within the European Union itself, further accelerating the disappearance of small and medium-sized farms, which are essential for European food sovereignty and a diversified agricultural model. It would also be a setback for climate and environmental commitments. Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, meaning European agriculture requires massive support towards an agroecological transition.
We need a strong CAP to ensure food sovereignty and a strong European political framework that allows us to move away from the much-pushed logic of free trade agreements such as the EU-Mercosur agreement, which further squeezes European farmers and their prices, causing them to disappear from the profession.
We strongly recall the demands of thousands of farmers, supported by 20 agriculture ministers in their letter of 3 June:
- A strong CAP budget, ensuring a decent income for farmers and means for the transition. The main demand coming from agricultural demonstrations across the EU last year was to ensure fair prices for farmers. The CAP budget should ensure this and, in addition, CAP payments should be redirected towards support for small and medium-sized farms, generational renewal, agro-ecological transition and crisis management. In addition, climate and health crises are already having a serious impact on agriculture on the continent. A strong budget is essential to reverse this trend and make our agriculture more resilient, as most farms need this transition.
- Reject renationalisation, which threatens European fairness and cohesion. The CAP is a common European project and further renationalisation would increase competition between farms across the continent, as they would be subject to different rules and support from country to country, even if they are part of the common market.
- Maintenance of both pillars, with a reinforced Pillar 2 for agroecology and installation. The disappearance of the second pillar would be tantamount to abandoning the systemic, food and rural vocation of the common agricultural policy. The EU did not achieve any of the objectives of the 2023 reform and has not achieved three of the objectives set out in the Treaty of Rome in 1962: satisfactory incomes for farmers, fair prices for consumers and stable agricultural markets. This situation is unacceptable and the removal of the second pillar would only worsen the situation, as this pillar makes it possible to counteract the devastating effects of the coupling of payments from the first pillar of the CAP to the area.
- Capping, degressivity and redistribution of CAP payments towards the small and medium farms who need it most.
- Revise the CMO including market regulation instruments: We propose to move away from the current paradigm of agriculture dependent on public subsidies so that European agricultural prices remain at a stable and remunerative level for farmers, and form the majority of their income.
- Revise the Unfair Trading Practices Directive by including the sale of agricultural products below production costs on the blacklist of commercial practices.
- Exit free trade agreements and reject the EU-Mercosur agreement under negotiation.
Europe must listen to the people who feed it. If these warnings are ignored, the legitimate anger of farmers will only grow. The current proposals disconnect the CAP from its original objectives and will inevitably end in farmers taking to the streets once more. However, history has taught us that weakening of European instruments always benefits the most powerful, to the detriment of the common good.
We look forward to your response and remain available for discussion.
On behalf of the ECVC Coordinating Committee
Contact information
Eliaz Moreau
EN, FR, ES
ECVC Policy Officer
eliaz@eurovia.org
+32 2 217 31 12
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