"We will depend on Madrid": Catalan farmers, worried about the new European budget

BrusselsNegotiations have begun to define what the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union should look like, a vital policy for the agricultural and livestock sector in the country. The Agriculture ministers of the Twenty-seven debated this Monday the first lines of work outlined by the European Commission for the new CAP. The reform, however, proposes fewer resources and more leeway for states to decide how to distribute them. In Catalonia, the sector views the proposal with concern because it fears that this flexibility will end up cutting aid and creating inequalities between territories.

The impact of the reform could be especially relevant in our region, as eight out of every ten farmers and livestock breeders in Catalonia benefit from these subsidies, according to the latest data from the Agro-food, Rural and Environmental Observatory. The most dependent sectors are cereal crops, stone fruit, nuts, and extensive livestock farming, in addition to dryland sectors such as olive and vineyards. These agricultural and livestock areas base a significant part of their economic viability on direct aid and EU rural development funds, unlike other more intensive sectors (such as industrial pork), which are not as dependent on subsidies.

The discussion, which is still in an initial stage, will depend above all on the money that ends up being allocated to the CAP in the next community budget. This will be determined in the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework, which sets the EU's spending limits for a seven-year period (2028–2034). And this is where a good part of the agricultural budget is at stake. With the current geopolitical context, some European capitals –starting with Berlin– are asking to allocate more resources to items such as defense and industry, to the detriment of the CAP item. This means that, from the outset, the amount allocated to agricultural policy is expected to be lower.

To compensate for the reduction in the CAP item and satisfy partners in favor of a more generous agricultural policy (such as France, Spain, Italy, or Poland), Brussels proposes protecting at least 300,000 million euros for direct aid to farmers and reserving a minimum of 10% of the funds from national plans for rural areas. It maintains that, with this system, the volume of resources available to the sector will be equivalent.

"This financial framework makes us suffer a lot because 20-22% of the reduction of the funds going to the Common Agricultural Policy will depend on it," assures Jaume Bernis to ARA, member of the executive of JARC-COAC and councilor of the European Economic and Social Committee. At Unió de Pagesos they share the same concern. "Faced with the increase in environmental requirements, international treaties with third countries that put pressure on livestock companies and climatic adversities such as drought, we need a strong agricultural policy," argues its national coordinator, Raquel Serrat.

Unió de Pagesos, in fact, criticizes that cuts are to be applied precisely now, when producers are "against the ropes" due to the increase in fuel prices. Serrat maintains that the increase in production costs, the historic drought, the abuses of intermediaries and inflation have brought the sector to the limit. "If we depend on imports, food can become a weapon of war," she concludes.

A more national CAP

The major change proposed by the new plan is to integrate all funds destined for the sector into a single pool. Until now, the CAP had two pillars of aid: direct payments to farmers (funded 100% by the EU) and a fund for rural development (co-financed between the EU and the regions or states). The proposal currently under discussion suggests grouping everything into a single fund that each member state receives, and that each national government decides how to distribute the funds.

This measure, which aims to streamline procedures and reduce bureaucracy, also sparks suspicion. JARC fears that this new system will lead to "more inequalities" and competition between the very territories of the European Union, as it would allow each member state to exhaust the maximum margin permitted for national contributions, and favor countries with greater fiscal capacity. Bernis is "totally against" a process of renationalization of aid and warns that the management of the CAP will no longer have the clear framework offered by the direct control of the European Commission, and will instead come to depend on the priorities of the Spanish government. "We will depend on Madrid when it comes to deciding where and how the money is prioritized," he warns.

The Spanish government itself shares the fear that the new system could lead to a renationalization of the CAP. Spain defends a more flexible agricultural policy, but insists that this should not turn it into 27 different agricultural policies. The Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, has warned that there is still time to negotiate: "Nothing is finalized in the CAP regulation," he stated at the entrance to the Council.

Another point of discussion is who the aid is intended for. In this area, agricultural unions argue that the beneficiaries of the CAP must be active farmers, that is, those whose income comes directly from agricultural production. Thus, JARC argues that subsidies cannot be "a supplement for a bad retirement."

Finally, the Brussels initiative proposes establishing a maximum ceiling of 100,000 euros per year in aid that each producer can receive. In this case, the measure would affect Catalonia less than other European territories, according to Bernis, because the Catalan model is formed mostly by small and medium-sized farms.