Is โฌ1.2T enough to save Europe?
In the age of Putin, Trump and Xi, the stakes for the next EU budget could not be higher.
common agricultural policy
EU Commission plans major overhaul of budget, merging agricultural and regional funds
A leaked document reveals that the European Commission is considering a major overhaul of the EUโs long-term budget by merging the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with cohesion policy under a single programming framework.
The next EU budget cannot be business as usual
The bloc must rethink and reprioritize in order to seize opportunities and tackle the new challenges we face today.
Press release – Post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy: press conference on Tuesday at 9:00
Agriculture Committee rapporteur Carmen Crespo Dรญaz will brief journalists on Tuesday on the upcoming reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP).Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Source : ยฉ European Union, 2025 – EP
Brussels backs off from big farm shake-up. Cuts are coming anyway.
The European Commission tried to gut the EU farm budget. Farmers, ministers and lobbyists fought back and won. But with funds shrinking, the pain is only delayed.
How CAP reform can secure Europeโs food future and set a global standardย
Smart reform of the Common Agricultural Policy can transform the EUโs agrifood system for the better โ delivering positive change for farmers, consumers, businesses and the planet.
Von der Leyenโs huge gamble puts her biggest policies at risk
The Common Agricultural Policy reform, new rules for deportations and revised environmental standards could all be hit by a recent decision to pull the greenwashing law.
How to navigate Denmarkโs EU presidency policyย agenda like a pro
Denmark picks up the Council leadership baton at a moment of geopolitical volatility.
Can Denmark sell green agriculture to a skeptical EU?
As Copenhagen takes the helm of the Council, its bold climate credentials face the hard grind of EU politics โ and a bloc more interested in competitiveness than carbon cuts.
Can Europe make ecological farming competitive?
Last year farmers’ protested against red tape pinned to EU funding, and their demonstrations yielded results. The European Commission has been simplifying farmers’ environmental obligations, but how will it reform the Common Agricultural Policy in the …
Death by dung: How Brussels failed to save Europeโs waters from a farm waste deluge
Nitrate pollution is destroying Europe’s aquatic ecosystems. Three decades after the EU started regulating it, there has been almost no improvement.
EU farm ministers vow to fight Brusselsโ budget shakeup
โThe single fund would be the end,โ Portugal warns, as EU agriculture ministers resist a Commission push to overhaul farm and regional funding.
Slimming CAPโs bureaucracy requires a digital transformation; the seeds have been sown [Advocacy Lab Content]
Simplifying the EUโs Common Agricultural Policy is much like simplifying a Rubikโs Cube, but the Commission is trying anyway โ Euractiv scopes the road ahead.
Yellow hat revolt: Inside Franceโs rural rising
With rural discontent growing, Marine Le Penโs far-right party sees an opportunity ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Butter vs bullets: EU commissioner warns against funnelling farm funds to defence
EU farm chief Christophe Hansen says โฌ387bn Common Agricultural Policy is vital for food security in 27-member bloc
What’s behind farmers’ protests returning to the streets of Brussels?
European farmers are set to return to the streets of Brussels, nearly a year after their major demonstrations. Their main concern: the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the risk of a fragmented, “27-speed” agriculture system across the…
EU farm plan earmarks more cash for disaster relief even as it loosens green rules
Proposals to slash red tape risk clashing with earlier recommendations to make farming more resilient.
Why Czechia defends its big farm subsidies as EU demands reform
In Czechia, 75% of farmland is cultivated by large farming enterprises, a legacy of decades of agricultural practices.
Germanyโs government-to-be out of step on gene edited crops
Itโs clear the incoming government has ironing out to do โ and Brussels may once again have to brace for the fallout of a hesitant German vote.
5 takeaways in the EUโs frothy wine packageย
Brussels tries to help an aging sector in terminal decline.
Meet the Mafia-busting MEP taking the fight against organized crime to Brussels
Giuseppe Antoci battled the Italian mob. But can he take on EU policymaking?
Von der Leyenโs first 100 days, graded
The Commission president promised to pull off seven political feats by March 10. Hereโs how she did.
Parliament to probe EU grants to Shell, Volkswagen and migrant NGOsย
A fight over how the Commission spends its cash expands to 28 NGOs and business giants.
European prosecutors indict 100 in Greek farm subsidy fraud
Prosecutions follow POLITICO investigation into scheme to bilk Brussels of aid earmarked for grazing land.
Czech farmers lead fresh EU border protests over Ukraine, LatAm trade deals
Farmers from Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia join Czech-led demonstrations, rejecting Ukraineโs efforts to ease concerns over cheap imports.
Keep trading and donโt forget China, says former EU agriculture boss Fischler
In an interview with Euractiv, former EU commissioner for agriculture Franz Fischler warns against growing trade protectionism in the EU and urges an embrace of new bilateral trade deals instead.
Merz won the German election. Hereโs what it means for Europe.
POLITICO breaks down what the conservativesโ victory means for EU policy and cooperation โ from nuclear weapons to cannabis.
5 takeaways in the EUโs big agriculture (and food) vision
EU tries to make farming sexy again โ and keep farmers from revolting.
The big fat Greek plot to defraud the EU
โFarmers” raked in millions of euros for land they didnโt own or work.
The biggest battles headed for Brussels
What the EU will be squabbling about in VDLโs second term.
Letโs work with farmers, not against them, says new EU agri chief
Christophe Hansen says his new vision for agriculture and food will be โdifferentโ and exclude โeat it or dieโ targets.
Romaniaโs presidential front-runner is all about farmers
Far-right independent Cฤlin Georgescu is trying to capture rural voters with fascist tropes.
Want food security? Eat less meat, major report says.
Europe’s top farming university is calling for smaller livestock herds and a shift toward plant-based diets.
โWelfare for the richโ: how farm subsidies wrecked Europeโs landscapes
The steep and stark environmental decline was not supposed to happen under the common agricultural policy The Rhine overflowed last winter, covering fields miles from the river and in some places leaving just the tops of trees visible.But Thomas Bollig…
Hungary hopes to win support from Romania on post-2027 EU farm policy
Despite their different views, the two ministers advocated for the continuation of dedicated CAP funding.
โReally dangerousโ: Farmers hate results of von der Leyenโs reform dialogue
Lobby group Copa-Cogeca is hardening its position after backlash from angry members.
Leaked documents: Which EU commissioners have the most property, money and influence
POLITICO has reviewed the declarations of interest of every European Commission nominee.
National agricultural plans miss EU environmental targets, say European auditors
The Common Agricultural Policy national strategic plans (CSPs) do not live up to the EU’s environmental ambitions, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors, which recommends that the Commission implements monitoring and evaluation system…
Von der Leyenโs first 100 days: What sheโs promised, what it means and what sheโll really deliver
The Commission president is promising to move quickly with far-reaching reforms. How credible is her plan?
Center right gets its way as golden boy Hansen lands EU farm job
Ursula von der Leyenโs pick for agrifood commissioner is a political animal and skilled mediator โ qualities he will need to do a better job than his hapless predecessor.
Producers urge the EU to address delays in CAP aid for farms going organic
EU considers organic an asset for building more sustainable agriculture, but France and other European countries are struggling with delays in the payment of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies for farms transitioning to organic cultivation.
EU urged to overhaul โฌ387bn farm subsidies regime
Report suggests basing Common Agricultural Policy payments on income not acreage and calls for curbing meat production
China hits back at electric vehicle tariffs with probe into EU dairy
Beijing claims Europe is creaming off fat profits from oversubsidized cheese.
NGOs take relaxation of CAP green rules to EUโs administrative watchdog
NGOs ClientEarth and BirdLife Europe on Wednesday (24 July) presented a complaint to the EU Ombudsman over the European Commissionโs decision to relax some of the environmental requirements under the blocโs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
To do: 6 thorny issues lurking in MEPsโ inboxes
From creating an EU-wide money market to protecting kids online, POLITICO looks at what lies ahead for lawmakers.
How to speak EP
Your guide to the jargon that’s everywhere in Brussels.
EU backtracks on 2027 target for use of smartphones in farm controlsย
On Thursday (11 July) the bloc dropped the target of making the use of photos taken by farmers with their smartphones mandatory by 2027, in a setback for ambitions to digitise Common Agricultural Policy checks on farmers.
How to navigate Hungaryโs EU presidency policy agenda like a pro
The countryโs Council stint will be marked by political change in Brussels following the EU election.
Far rightโs Bardella vows โโฌ2 to โฌ3 billionโ cut in French contribution to EU budget
Far right Rassemblement nationalโs (RN) President Jordan Bardella told business leaders on Thursday (20 June) he would cut Franceโs contribution to the EU budget by โโฌ2 to 3 billionโ should he be appointed prime minister after the snap elections โ thou…
Follow Chirac and Farage, not angry farmers, when it comes to music as a political weapon
Europe’s farmers are taking a stand โ and ruining it by playing “Barbie Girl.”
EU countries seal relaxation of CAP green requirements until 2027ย
The EU Council gave its final green light on Monday (13 May) to a relaxation of the environmental rules under the blocโs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will apply until the end of the current period in 2027 despite vocal protests from green NG…
Wojciechowski is โgratefulโ for farmersโ protests, CAP should be based on incentives
EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski told Euractiv he is grateful for the recent wave of farmers’ protests, which helped ensure a swift response to their problems with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a system that should be based …
Commission mulls weakening petland protection requirement for farmers
A group of EU countries is calling to relax rules on mandatory practices to protect peatlands and wetlands under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) only days after the European Parliament rubber-stamped an overhaul of six other environmental con…
CAP simplification will get more and more complicated
Last week the European Parliament gave its final nod to a package meant to make the Common Agricultural Policy rules easier to apply for farmers and national administrations. But it is not the end of the CAP โsimplificationโ debate. It is just the begi…
Press release – Parliament approves a revision of the EUโs common agricultural policy
MEPs gave a green light to the common agriculture policy (CAP) review to ease the administrative burden for EU farmers.Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Source : ยฉ European Union, 2024 – EP
Left-wing groups to push for keeping green rules for farmers
MEPs from left-wing groups in the European Parliament will try to make changes to the Commissionโs proposal to relax some environmental requirements in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to be voted on Thursday (25 April).
Shortest stint
Heather Anderson
NGOs warn of โpoisoned giftโ for farmers as Parliament votes to fast-track easing of green rules
As the European Parliament is paving the way for a swift approval of the relaxation of some environmental requirements in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the 2023-2027 period, NGOs are mobilising against the decision.ย
A fairer future for farmers is a greener future for Europe
Addressing the inequities in our food system is essential to delivering justice for farmers and securing climate action.
British farmers want basic income to cope with post-Brexit struggles
Schemes to replace EU subsidies will not plug gap left by loss of EU subsidies for most farmersFarmers are calling for the government to grant them a universal basic income, saying the post-Brexit agriculture subsidy scheme has left many poorer.Delays …
Macronโs top candidate for EU election says sheโs โproudโ of Green Deal and โappalledโ by far-right campaign
In an interview with POLITICO, Valรฉrie Hayer doubled down on a record of centrism and compromise.
Farmersโ protests: New Brussels demo begins with bonfire outside EU Parliament
Tractors circle Place du Luxembourg and block roads around the EU capital.
EU moves to speed up adoption of green conditions simplification for farmersย
The measures to loosen some of the environmental requirements of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could come into force in 2024, with the European Parliament speeding up the approval of the Commissionโs proposal and member states broadly suppo…
Commission unveils new package exempting small farms from environmental controls
The Commission presented on Friday (15 March) its simplification package to reduce the administrative burden of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), loosening some environmental requirements and allowing more flexibility for the member states in the i…
EU takes the ax to green farming rules
The European Commission’s move to slash environmental requirements for farmers comes as top scientists are urging just the opposite.
Europeโs farmer protests have been fertile ground for Russian propaganda
While starting at the grassroots level, the protests have been keenly exploited by Russia to sow division and undermine popular support for Ukraineโs defense.
5 things we learned from the EUโs big (and first) climate risk report
Farming must change. Diets must evolve. Southern Europe is at risk. And disaster looms if EU leaders donโt act after Juneโs elections.
European Commission ready to cut red tape for farmersโ access to subsidies
The EU executive proposed measures to loosen monitoring, controls and environmental requirements to alleviate the administrative burden of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on growers and member states, according to a document seen by Euractiv.
Madrid braces as farmers extend protests
Madrid is bracing for traffic chaos on Wednesday as thousands of farmers are expected to protest against the latest government proposals, which they say are insufficient to maintain the economic viability of their farms and reduce the bureaucratic burd…
Spain suggests simplifying CAP, strengthening Mercosur โmirror clausesโ
Spain will present a proposal to streamline administrative rules under the Common Agricultural Policy and strengthen mirror clauses in free trade agreements, such as the EU-Mercosur deal, to ensure that trading partners respect similar agricultural and…
Spanish PM pledges to strengthen farmersโ power in food chain
In an attempt to calm farmers’ protests, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sรกnchez on Wednesday promised to strengthen the national food chain law, introduce reciprocity in the conditions for agricultural imports, the so-called “mirror clauses”, and simplif…
Ursula von der Leyen scraps pesticide reduction bill, in gift to farmersย
The European Parliament already rejected the contentious text, which the Commission President described as a “worthy aim.”
Greens pick veteran MEP duo to lead EU campaign
MEPs Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout received strong support from party members.
Farmers โgain a seatโ at the EU leadersโ table
After weeks of mobilisation across Europe, farmers’ protests seem to have gained a political foothold in the conclusions of the European Council summit on Thursday (1 February) which acknowledgedย the โconcerns raisedโ by the sector and the โessential r…
Fires and a toppled statue: Farmers clash with police by EU Parliament
Flemish farmers drink morning beers on Place du Luxembourg as food producers rage about green tape from Brussels.
Brussels backs Ukraineโs duty-free access to EU until June 2025
Caps put forward on sugar, poultry and eggs as farmers protest against Ukrainian competition.
With ‘siege’ of Paris, French farmers vent anger at red tape, rising costs
French farmers are blockading key motorways around Paris for a second consecutive day this Tuesday. They are determined to show that they can hold out for several days if new measures due to be announced by the French government continue to disappoint…
French farmers prepare for lengthy showdown as they launch โsiege of Parisโ
New Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is scrambling to appease the agriculture sector as tractor protests escalate.
France axes tractor fuel hike, cuts red tape to appease angry farmers
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is looking for a way out of his first political crisis as farmersโ protests spread across the country.
French Green MEPs call for radical change in agricultural policy
Amid growing farmers’ protests across the EU, the French EU Greens chief on Tuesday (23 January) called for a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that temporarily insures farmers’ pay and limitations on free trade deals that could undermine EU farmers…
Ministers accused of breaking post-Brexit spending promise to English farmers
Exclusive: Figures show hundreds of millions of pounds from promised ยฃ2.4bn a year on agriculture not spentThe government has been accused of breaking its promise to English farmers, with hundreds of millions of pounds missing from the farming budget.M…
Agri commissioner calls for ceiling on CAP payments toย largeย farms
European Union farming subsidies should be compulsorily capped to cope with the accession of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, according to the EUโs Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, as discussions heat up about the future shape of the next…
Commissioner: โStrategic dialogueโ sets stage for future farming subsidies programme
The Commissionโs strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture โ which will officially be launched in January โ will help set the course of discussions on the future shape of the EUโs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), according to Agriculture Commiss…
Eleven EU countries call for more โflexibilityโ on CAPโs fallow land rules
Eleven EU member states, including France, are calling for greater “flexibility” in the previously derogated requirement to leave land fallow under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in a proposal that has left the European Commission perplexed.
A view from the farm: From policy gaps to navigating the CAP
EURACTIV visited Sรฉbastien Geens who, together with his brother, has taken over his mixed crop-livestock family farm in Villers-lez-Heest, a small village outside the Belgian town of Namur, to hear his thoughts about the future of farming.
Tie farming subsidies to performance, OECD tells EU
Despite high ambitions to make farming greener, progress in the EU sustainable agriculture is stalling, according to a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which calls to tie the blocโs extensive farming subsidies more str…
Agrifood Brief: The best thing that could ever CAP-pen
Forget prophecies of empty coffers and huge cuts for founding members: Ukraineโs EU accession is the best thing that could ever happen to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Ukraineโs EU membership will trigger a rewriting of CAP, says Kyiv official
Evaluating the impact of Ukraine’s accession on the EU’s farming subsidies under the current criteria is not a relevant exercise as Kyiv’s EU membership will likely lead to the end of the Common Agricultural Policy as we know it today, according to Ukr…
German regions insist on reorientation of EU farm policy
A group of regional agriculture ministers in Brussels this week called for a far-reaching and fundamental reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – but the European Commission remains hesitant.
EU told to act now on farm reform or risk blowing Ukraineโs accession
‘My impression is that we wait for problems and then try to solve them,’ says former EU farm commissioner.
Study: Mixed impact of green measures in EUโs farming subsidies scheme
EU countries that have been given more freedom to design environmental measures under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are showing little ambition with measures that have very little positive environmental impact, a new study has found.
Fury and infighting grip Brussels in clash over Ukrainian grain
Dispute over food offers a taste of battles to come as Ukraine seeks to join the European Union.
Putin wants more land. The EU is racing to get there first
European Union expansion is back on the agenda for Ursula von der Leyen but rapid growth is going to hurt.
Agrifood Brief: Fantasy CAP
With many of you back at work and holidays already feeling like a distant memory, the comeback from after summer always hits differently than the actual beginning of a new year.
Commissioner: EU plans not to exempt farmers from green measures for 2024
The European Commission is not planning to allow farmers further exemptions on environmental measures for another year to boost cereal production, according to EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, despite mounting pressure to do so from me…
Farmers in England unsure what to plant as post-Brexit payments delayed
Latest blow to sustainable farming incentive for nature recovery prompts warnings of โtough autumnโFarmers in England are being left without crucial nature recovery payments and unsure of what to plant after delays to a post-Brexit scheme.The sustainab…
CAP tracker: Lessons from the ground
As the EUโs Common Agricultural Policy is being implemented on the ground, we can start drawing lessons from practical successes and challenges for the future of the blocโs farm subsidies. As of January 2023, we experienced for the first time…
Agrifood Special CAPitals Brief: Nature based solutions
As inter-institutional negotiations get underway on the EUโs contentious nature restoration law, EURACTIVโs network took a look at how farmers across 10 member states are implementing nature-based solutions inย agriculture.
Germany aims to tweak CAP plan as green measures fall through
Germany’s federal states have agreed on proposals to improve the catalogue of eco-schemes, a new instrument under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reward sustainable farming practices, whose take-up has so far been lower than hoped.
French minister blasts NGOsโ โpermanent spirit of demolitionโ on EU farming subsidies
NGOs are suing the European Commission for having approved France’s national plan for implementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) despite allegedly breaching EU law – a move that French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau calls a “destructive battle”.