European Union agriculture ministers will take stock this week of some of the Council's most complex negotiations as they work towards a partial agreement in October on the farm provisions of the next EU budget, Euractiv reports.

As part of talks on the EU's long-term budget for 2028 to 2034, Ireland, which holds the Council presidency, wants farm ministers to agree by the end of October on the text governing farmer subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Ministers will discuss their position at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on Monday, and national experts are due to settle remaining technical details on Wednesday before the talks move to the political level, three diplomats said. A senior diplomat said an October agreement would be difficult but remained within reach.

One of the main open questions is the definition of an "active farmer", which decides who qualifies for subsidies. Most member states favour a broad definition that would let people who qualify now keep receiving support. "We hope that it will be close to the status quo otherwise things won't move forward," a diplomat said. In the European Parliament, MEPs are pushing the other way, drawing up a "negative list" of individuals and types of entity that would be ineligible for CAP support.

The Irish compromise text under negotiation would give member states more flexibility than the Commission's proposal. Several countries have asked for environmental measures, support for small farmers and social conditionality to be entirely voluntary, diplomats said, something the Commission has warned against.

Before agreeing the CAP regulation, diplomats want progress on the wider budget "negotiating box", handled by the General Affairs Council rather than farm ministers. It includes proposals to cap payments above a threshold and reduce them progressively as farm size grows; because payments follow hectares, the aim is to spread funding more evenly and limit the share that goes to the largest farms. If ministers cannot agree these points in the coming months, EU leaders will decide them, a second diplomat said.

Member states are also preparing a Council negotiating mandate on the Common Market Organisation, the part of farm policy that sets rules for agricultural markets. The Special Committee on Agriculture will discuss the compromise text on 5 October, opening the way to an agreement in the following weeks. The report is by Euractiv's Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro.

Photo: Bogdan Hoyaux / European Union / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Source: Euractiv, Agriculture