The European Commissioner for Agriculture has told EU agriculture ministers that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must show it is a "policy of the future" to secure funding.

Commissioner Christophe Hansen also told a meeting of the Council of the EU that, in his view, the current trend in negotiations on the next CAP is too focussed on flexibility for member states, and not focussed enough on the "commonality" of the policy across the EU.

According to the commissioner, this could also cut off the future CAP from higher potential funding.

Commissioner Hansen addressed the meeting of agriculture ministers yesterday (Tuesday, June 23) as they gathered to continue talks and debates on the format of the CAP post-2027, and the amount of funding it should be allocated out of the EU's wider long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

Under proposals put forward by the European Commission last year, EU farming will received around 20% less funding in the next CAP compared to the current one, as other policy areas, especially defence and security, have come to the fore.

As well as reducing the CAP budget, the commission also proposed a new mechanism for allocating money to member states, through so-called National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs).

In these plans, member states will determine how to spend money they get from Europe, so, even though there is a proportion of funding ringfenced for agricultural and rural interventions, any top up to this would have to compete with other priorities at member state level.

Speaking at the council meeting, Commissioner Hansen said balancing common CAP rules with flexibility for member states - around issues including capping and digressive reductions of the highest payments - with commonality of rules across the EU, remains the "central question on the policy".

"Flexibility has...been asked for by many of the member states. I believe that the current discussions on the CAP go for too much flexibility at the expense of commonality," he said.

"You have proposed, for example, nearly all mandatory interventions - such as the environmental transition actions, degressivity, small farmer payments, and the setting up of rural businesses - to become optional, and I think this is not helping the 'big C' in the Common Agricultural Policy," the commissioner told the ministers.

"I have indicated my openness to rediscuss degressivity and capping, but we need to show that we deliver some reforms as well," he added.

The commissioner was commenting on the position the member states have taken on the 2028-2034 MFF - and the CAP within that - which Cyprus, as the current holder of the rotating presidency of the council, presented last week.

He outlined a number of other criticisms of the council's position, saying the approach of the council to the NRPPs "opens income support to benefit processing companies, or public or private entities, in both cases for activities that go beyond farming, and this is another reason to ensure targeting [of payments] via common EU rules, and this remains a first priority".

"Without common rules and better targeted policy, we undermine the justification for a strong budget dedicated to this policy, especially at times of such strong competition for funds," Commissioner Hansen warned.

He added: "We must demonstrate we are a policy of the future and not just a traditional policy, and...we want income support to go to real farmers, not entities where agriculture is a side activity."

He also told ministers: "Citizens increasingly ask whether CAP support is reaching those who actively farm and contribute to Europe's food security."

Later in yesterday's meeting, he said: "I think we need to have common rules, I think not everything should be voluntary.

"I think we have to maintain certain kinds of mandatory provisions, even though I heard a lot of calls for voluntary, but voluntary means not commonality, so I think there again we need to find the right balance," he added.

Irish presidency

This was the final meeting of EU agriculture ministers under the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU.

Ireland takes over from July 1.

During the six months of Ireland's presidency, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Martin Heydon will chair the monthly meetings of agriculture ministers.

The minister spoke at yesterday's meeting to congratulate his Cypriot counterpart, Minister Maria Panayiotou, on her role in chairing the council meetings.

On CAP, the minister told the meeting: "There is a strong consensus among all of us that we require a properly funded CAP, and each of us need to go back home, and tell our prime ministers and our ministers of finance that we need to hear them articulate that...because this really, really matters."