Farmers face fight for CAP subsidies

THE fight to maintain future farm subsidies is on following the Commission’s recent white paper on the Common Agricultural Policy.

The paper shocked farmers by saying the CAP budget could be up for grabs in the EU’s drive to boost defence and migration spending.

“There are also a number of new challenges in which the EU budget will need to do more than today,” said the paper, which sets out the EU’s thinking for the CAP post-2020. “In this context, all existing instruments including the CAP will need to be looked at.”

Agriculture chief Phil Hogan doesn’t want farmers to have to pay the price for the shift in EU priorities.

“Farmers have to get member states on side and urge them to decide whether they want to make an additional contribution to the budget,” he told the

“It would be very unfair if the agricultural budget had to pay for the new political objectives of the European Union around security, defence and migration,” Mr Hogan said.

EU budget commissioner Günther Oettinger has said that there should be “fresh money for fresh initiatives”, but EU budget hawks such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Austria are unwilling to stump up extra cash.

The departure of the UK in 2019 will also leave a massive €10.3bn a year shortfall in EU coffers, the Commission estimates.

The EU will table a proposal for its new post-2020 budget next May, which will be followed in the summer by legislative proposals on the new CAP.

Last week’s CAP communication also suggested capping or progressively lowering subsidies for large farmers and allowing governments more control over how ‘green’ subsidies are spent.

The Commission hopes it will help farmers lower emissions and increase biodiversity, following widespread criticism of the CAP’s 2013 ‘greening’ reform.