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A major shake-up in how the EU manages farming subsidies appears to be underway with the European Commission planning to unify delivery of its two largest budget items—cohesion funds and agricultural subsidies—under a single channel, according to a leaked draft of the EU’s next long-term budget seen by Euronews.
Crucially, the proposal would eliminate the CAP’s “second pillar”, which currently funds rural development programmes. These programmes support agro-environmental initiatives, farm investments, and the development of rural communities.
“The new framework guarantees coherence by integrating the CAP interventions from the current two-funds structure under one single umbrella. Such alignment brings further flexibility and simplification,” the leaked document states.
While farmers’ associations—many of which protested against similar proposals last May—are likely to fiercely oppose the removal of the rural development pillar, the most transformative element may be the planned merger of CAP and cohesion policy.
Rumours of such a move have circulated for months. The draft outlines a new mechanism tentatively called “National and Regional Partnerships”, which would be supported by a single fund.
According to the Commission, this approach “will help better exploit synergies between the policies covered by the scope of this initiative and hence support their delivery.”
“By bringing cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy under a single programming approach, Member States will have a wider toolbox to address the challenges faced by farmers and communities in rural areas,” the draft notes.
This expanded toolbox would include infrastructure development, access to digital, water, and energy services, as well as support for skills development and generational renewal.
However, the proposal could face strong resistance. CAP and cohesion policy serve fundamentally different roles: the former provides direct subsidies to farmers, while the latter focuses on reducing regional disparities through investment.
Many in the agricultural sector, including several EU agriculture ministers and Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen, have expressed a desire to maintain the CAP’s current two-pillar structure and standalone budget.
This is a developing story.
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