European Parliament’s agriculture committee deplores cuts in food promotion funding

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) criticized the reduction of the EU support for the promotion of agricultural products, despite the Commission’s reassurance about the possible rectification of the budget in the autumn.

The MEPs held a debate on the 2025 budget on Tuesday (23 July), in the first meeting of the Committee on Agriculture following the June European elections.

The first draft of the opinion to be voted by the MEPs, signed by Romania’s Daniel Buda (EPP), “regrets” the reduction in the Common Agricultural Policy funding compared to 2024 and calls for an increase of the EU financial support.

The opinion will contribute to the European Parliament’s position, to be approved later this year in the Budget Committee, then in the plenary, and finally negotiated with the Council representing the member states.

Under the review of the EU’s multiannual financial framework (MFF), the bloc’s seven-year budget, approved last winter, €440 million will be cut from the CAP budget for the years 2025 to 2027. The item of €50 billion in aid for Ukraine stood out as one of the main elements of the review.

The cut does not affect direct payments but it will have to be “borne by expenditure directly managed by the Commission,” the Commission’s spokesman for agriculture and trade Olof Gill told Euractiv.

The reduction in 2025 is worth €136 million and will directly affect the resources “for the promotion programmes proposed by organisations from several member states,” the so-called ‘multi-programmes’, Gill added.

The Commission-managed expenditure also includes the missions abroad of Commission officials with EU business operators to explore new markets.

On 10 July, 19 representatives of the European agri-food sector sent a joint letter to call on the member states to oppose these cuts.

They criticised the fact that this budget has been cut from €185.9 million in 2024 to €93.9 million in 2025 – or €281.7 million over three years.

“This is a blow to those who want to internationalise their agricultural activities. Compensation will have to be found one way or another,” the Italian MEP Raffaele Stancanelli (Patriots for Europe, Italy) said during the debate.

At a time when we need to find “new ways of creating value for products, these cuts in promotions are counterproductive”, added Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italy), who called for these funds to be maintained.

“We need a clear position and a clear debate with the future Commissioner to send out the message that we do not agree,” said Dorfmann.

Céline Imart (EPP, France) deplored the budget cuts to promotions that defend foods with protected designation of origin (PDO), “the pride of our regions,” urging the Commission to “shore up” this budget.

The Commission seeks to reassure

Carmen Naranjo Sanchez, the European Commission official participating in the debate, acknowledged the “slight reduction” in the agricultural budget.

The 2025 budget, she said, will maintain promotion measures under the management of the EU and member states (so-called ‘single programmes’) at the same level as last year, meaning that the budgets of the member states will not be affected.

Things are not set in stone in any case, she recalled, as the annual programme 2025 for supporting the promotion of agricultural products will only be presented to member states in September.

“As we did last year, we can always adopt an increase as part of a letter of amendment to the budget later in the autumn, depending on the figures we have and the needs identified,” Naranjo added.

[Edited by Angelo Di Mambro and Zoran Radosavljevic]

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