During a debate with MEP Herbert Dorfmann, EPP local and regional leaders stressed that Europe’s farmers, rural areas and regions must be protected in the ongoing negotiations on the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and that the architecture of EU funding must remain coherent, fair and regionally responsive.
Referring to the original proposal, Herbert Dorfmann, Member of the European Parliament and EPP Coordinator in the AGRI Committee, said he remained unconvinced by the single-fund approach, the size of the budget allocated to the CAP, and the overall architecture of the proposal. Commenting on the latest developments, he noted: “We made some steps forward, as we introduced some safeguards for the regions. Then, clearly, further ring-fencing for agriculture and rural policies of 40 billion euros — so we are now from 300 to 340, not very far from the 386 that we have right now. The most important and maybe the biggest result from this letter is the architecture. The articles which are relevant for the functioning of the Common Agricultural Policy and the proposal of the Common Agricultural Policy are now not distributed among two different regulations.”
Piotr Całbecki, President of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region and Chair of the NAT Commission of the European Committee of the Regions, said: “I am grateful that, thanks to Parliament’s intervention, the agricultural envelope has been increased by 40 billion euros, to 340 billion. But the underlying idea remains deeply troubling. We are living in a period of chronic uncertainty regarding the state of agriculture in Europe. How many times do farmers have to drive their tractors onto the streets – including here in Brussels – simply to make their problems heard? Against this background, it is unacceptable to put forward a proposal that effectively dismantles the existing architecture and the very logic of the Common Agricultural Policy.” He added: “There is only one euro, and we cannot move it from one heading to another and pretend that with the same euro we can finance everything: cohesion policy, regional development, the Common Agricultural Policy, direct payments and rural development.”
Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, President of the Andalusia Region, stressed: “Europe is a major agri-food power, and we cannot afford to lose capacity, leadership or sovereignty. From Andalusia, we have conveyed several key issues to the Commissioner for Agriculture: the CAP must be adapted to the reality of each territory. We call for genuine simplification, with clear rules, reduced bureaucratic burdens and greater predictability. Generational renewal is essential. It is also necessary to grant regions a central role, ensuring they have the management tools and market instruments needed to overcome the current crisis.”
Csaba Borboly, Vice-President of Harghita County and Vice-President of the EPP-CoR Group, highlighted the rapidly growing challenge posed by brown bear overpopulation in several European regions: “We are facing rising attacks, serious risks to human safety, and the decline of traditional grazing systems that maintain biodiversity. In the new MFF, biodiversity has lost its dedicated budget line, which means high-conflict regions may receive no targeted support through national CAP envelopes. This is why we need a separate EU-level funding window for prevention, rapid intervention, compensation and support to traditional farming systems threatened by bear overpopulation. We achieved progress once on the wolf through coordinated EU action. We can and must do the same for the brown bear.”
Olgierd Geblewicz, President of the West Pomerania Region said: “I am very pleased that, together with the European Parliament, we have managed to push the Commission to change its position, and that we can now look with greater optimism at the prospect of strengthening the CAP and safeguarding the role of regions.”
Pablo Gustavo Broseta Dupre, Vice-minister for Representation to the European Union and the Spanish Autonomous Regions, Government of the Region of Valencia, highlighted that "We are aware of the complexity of this file and of the negotiating effort that has been made, but precisely for that reason we must ask the European institutions – both Parliament and the Council – to reflect carefully before giving final approval to this agreement. Spain, and in particular the Valencian Community, has production areas where rice is not just an economic activity: it is landscape, it is biodiversity, and it is part of our territorial identity. Protecting this crop means protecting a social and environmental balance that we all recognise as valuable."
Patrick Schwarz-Kiefer, Member of the County Council of Baranya Vármegye, emphasised: “It is important that the EPP shows its strong commitment to representing farmers’ interests by establishing EPP Farmers. I had the opportunity to attend the first meeting of EPP Farmers, where we represented the EPP-CoR Group.”
Thomas Schmidt, member of Saxon state parliament and EPP-CoR Member, stressed: “The proposal of the Commission needs to be addressed because this is not just about money but also about democracy.”
Radim Sršeň, Deputy Minister for Regional Development of the Czech Republic, Mayor of Dolní Studénky, Chair of the Rural Pact Coordination Group and CoR rapporteur on the future of rural development, added: “Rural development must not be seen merely as the second pillar of the CAP. One positive element of the current proposal is that it approaches rural development in a holistic way, across all relevant policies, including cohesion policy.” He warned: “I strongly caution against treating even the 10% for rural areas as ‘extra money’ for the CAP. These resources are meant to cut across several policies. More than 30% of our population lives in rural areas. These are highly cohesive territories, and 10% will simply not be sufficient. My plea is this: do not dilute or marginalise rural development. It must be addressed as a comprehensive, cross-cutting priority, fully integrated into cohesion policy and other EU policies — not reduced to an adjunct of the CAP.”