4000 organisations have already taken a position on agriculture

We are exactly one week away from the European Commission's expected announcements on the future of the EU budget and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). As a powerful symbol of growing concern, the petition has already been signed by more than 4,000 organisations from across Europe.

Copa-Cogeca notes that one question emerges: will the European Commission continue to ignore the growing concerns not only from farmers' communities, but also from the rural public at large?

Our mobilisation is far from over – in fact, it is only getting stronger.
Copa-Cogeca thanks all those who have signed the petition and shown their support, and encourages those who have not yet signed to sign the petition, which can be found on the website of the Chamber of Agriculture.

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The European Commission is preparing to present a new plan for the Multiannual Financial Perspective (MFF), which promises major changes to the EU's budgetary architecture. Although the official document has not yet been published, it is already clear that almost 530 existing programmes are to be merged into a single fund of €1.2 trillion. This fund would become the main pillar of EU funding, to which two more would be added: one for third-country support and one for strengthening competitiveness.

This radical overhaul is a serious concern for the agricultural sector. Organisations representing European farmers and their interests, including Copa-Cogeca, the largest umbrella organisation for agriculture and cooperatives, stress that such changes could mean significant cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget and the abolition of the two main pillars of the CAP: direct payments and rural development (structural) support.

The threat to agriculture is real: the CAP could be cut by up to 20%

Although the content of the Commission's proposal will not be made public until 16 July, there is already talk that the CAP budget could be cut by as much as 15–20 %. Such cuts would be a severe blow to farmers across Europe, especially those already facing climate, market and geopolitical challenges.

Copa-Cogeca and national farmers' organisations are strongly opposed to the idea of a single fund, which would destroy the current two-pillar structure of the CAP. They call for agriculture to remain a separate priority in the European budget, with clear, ring-fenced and sufficiently large funding, and for farmers to be guaranteed stability and continuity.