Getting Irish viewpoint into latest CAP negotiations

Thomas Lyons

Last week the centre of Ireland drew the attention of farmers right across Europe as two of the three lead negotiators working on the next 2028-2034 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) came to Mullingar.

MEP Barry Cowen brought the EU Parliament’s lead CAP negotiator, ministers, senators, farm organisation representatives and a few stragglers to the Mullingar Park Hotel for a discussion on the future of CAP.

“There’s probably as many journalists as farmers,” one of the Fianna Fáil MEP’s staff observed as the attendees settled in to the ranks of chairs in the conference room at the hotel.

It was a slight exaggeration, but interest from the right leaning, German owned, Politico and online business news publisher The Currency indicated that this was more than just a meeting for Westmeath farmers.

The magnet attracting the national and international media was MEP Norbert Lins, chair of the Committee on Agricultural and Rural Development. MEP Lins, who grew up on his family farm in Danketsweiler, Germany, is the EU Parliament’s lead CAP negotiator.

Getting access to Herr Lins can provide clarity to the proposals for the 2028-2034 CAP that is indicating a cut to the dedicated budget. Some reports suggest a 19% reduction, around €79 billion, to the total package.

Europe, like much of the rest of the world, has come to the conclusion that it’s more important to spend more money on bombs and less on securing the means of feeding the population.

The importance of CAP is self-evident. CAP has transformed Irish agriculture. Ireland has positioned itself as a provider of foodstuff of the highest quality, world leaders for beef and dairy.

That said, it is not a flawless means of distribution. The spend on the agriculture policy is one third of the EU budget. Across the EU, approximately 80% of direct payments are distributed to roughly 20% of the largest farms. The AGROFERT Group of Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš received payments of €16.6 million in 2024.

Last Thursday’s discussions, chaired by journalist Darragh McCullough, focused on the post-2027 CAP, particularly addressing the potential 20% budget reductions.

From the opening address by Thomas Byrne, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for European Affairs and at the Department of Defence, to the panel discussion, this gathering covered key topics including the prospect of a reduced CAP budget, targeted supports, generational renewal and environmental measures.

Minister Byrne struck a measured tone. He represented a government holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1 to December 31, 2026, marking its eighth time in that leadership role.

Negotiations continue to be part of the process: “A lot of the work still seems likely to happen during our presidency,” Minister Byrne said. “The European Commission made a proposal last summer. I was at pains to point out that that was a proposal. The real work is now being done.”

MEP Cowen, who is a member of the Renew Party of the European Parliament as well as Fianna Fáil, told the gathering of his hopes: “I speak as Midlands North West MEP with a mandate from a widely agricultural rural community. My aspiration for the next panel on agriculture and policy is one that seeks to reflect their wishes and their best interests but obviously one also which recognises the responsibility given by my wider group in Europe and to act as an honest broker for them too.”

The elected representative pointed to the budget as a key concern: “The aspirations contained in Commissioner Hansen’s vision for the future of agriculture are commendable and plausible and encouraging, but those aspirations cannot become operational until there is adequate funding in place to implement them. That’s the first problem we have. We have a 20% gap.”

MEP Cowen highlighted the gap between the €386 billion spend and the €985 million pot that also has to be spent on fisheries, migration and other issues. He described working with his fellow EU representatives for a solution “to bridge the financial gap” as a challenge.

Global turmoil plays a part in why that reduction is coming: “There’s a huge commitment in relation to defence and security. We have to acknowledge that there are countries in the Eastern Bloc who are more interested in tanks than tractors. To be quite honest, we have to respect and appreciate that.

“There’s a real life threat to them should Putin succeed in Ukraine. Where is next? That’s why the European Union has to be united in its efforts to repel that illegal incursion and ensure democratic rules and international law is upheld.”

Though operating on different party lines within the EU, MEP Lins held a lot of common ground with MEP Cowen, particularly when it came to the sticky 20% budget reduction: “This is not acceptable. We need a budget for the upcoming years, 2028 to 2034, with at least the same amount that we have in the current period. We have to add inflation, which is reality.”

“The numbers I have seen, and we are not directly involved in the MFF negotiations, which will be proposed and will be probably demanded of the European Parliament, will be a dedicated budget between €420 and €475 billion,” the EU Parliament’s lead CAP negotiator said, “but it’s not only about the budget and about the money, which is important, it’s about the architecture.”

MEP Lins said many on the agriculture panel had a common goal: “I think we need evolution when it comes to the Common Agriculture Policy, not a revolution.

I can only agree with Barry when it comes to issues like generational renewal.”

Generational renewal is a hot topic. The strategic effort to encourage young people to enter farming and ensure smooth farm succession, addressing the ageing demographic of farmers, is flagged by the EU as a real issue.

As more land is snapped up by the 1% who receive 40% of the budget, ensuring a livelihood for family farms is increasingly more important.

The discussion also touched on environmental sustainability, organic support, and focusing on simplifying the bureaucratic nature of the CAP.

Italian MEP Dario Nardella, who gave a video address to the meeting, reiterated the point that agricultural representatives are more aligned than many other EU committees:

“We share more common ground than our politically different families may suggest.

“On the fundamentals of the next CAP, we are speaking with one voice. That is a good sign for the negotiations ahead.”

MEP Nardella emphasised the importance of CAP for food sovereignty, and its crucial importance to all citizens of the EU: “Cutting the agriculture budget and the re-nationalisation of it is the wrong direction for Europe.”

After the Mullingar event, MEP Cowen said it provided a valuable platform to give Irish farmers a voice in the EU Parliament’s CAP negotiations:

“It was about encouraging and engaging with stakeholders across Ireland,” he said, “it’s giving the Irish viewpoint at an early stage, rather than when everything is over.”