The animated Luxembourg Square (Place du Luxembourg), where the European Parliament (EP) building complex is located, will this Thursday be the final scene of an unprecedented demonstration: farmers and breeders from 40 agricultural organizations from the 27 countries that make up the European Union (EU) will tomorrow reject the European Commission’s proposal to cut around the 22% of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds. A proposal that could put an end to the CAP as we know it so far. How? Because the Commission document “renationalizes” a large part of this historic European policy: the money would come from a single fund per country, a sort of catch-all that member countries could supplement. The mobilization driven by the main European agricultural organization, the COGECA CUPwill cross several relevant points of the community capital such as rue de La Loi and will coincide with the meeting of European heads of state and government December 18 and 19.
The main European agricultural organization, which counts among its members the Spanish Asaja, COAG and UPA, estimates that they will be present around 10,000 farmers from the Twenty-seven countries which make up the European Union. All belonging to at least forty organizations. “A historic event”, as the main officials of the three Spanish associations mentioned above recalled yesterday. The president of Asaja and vice president of COPA COGECA, Pedro Barato, emphasized that “between 500 and 550 Spanish farmers will be present at Thursday’s demonstration” and spoke of “a very big effort to ensure that the Spanish field is sufficiently represented”.
“Between 500 and 550 Spanish farmers” will be present at tomorrow’s demonstration in Brussels, through Asaja, COAG and UPA, coinciding with the meeting of European heads of government and state on Thursday and Friday.
Trade policy, another puzzle
The three agricultural organizations also attacked the trade policy developed by the European Commission, in particular everything relating to the trade agreement with Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) which could be ratified at the end of this week even if the shadow of a “blocking minority” made up of France, Poland and the unknown Italy persists. Even if, for sectors like wine and oil can be an opportunity If we open the doors to markets like Brazil, fear in products like beef, honey or rice is at its peak. “unfair competition” and insufficient safeguard clauses, although they were strengthened yesterday by the European Parliament (EP).
“The mobilizations will move towards the States”
Director of the LLYC Food Office and former Secretary General of Agriculture and Food (2004-2005), Fernando Moraledadescribes it as “a unanimous response” from the agricultural sector to Brussels’ intentions. This consultant, who was also secretary general of the Union of Small Farmers and Breeders (UPA) between 1987 and 2005, has no doubts about the success of tomorrow’s appeal. Furthermore, he warns, ““Unanimity is not easy to achieve.” and it is not easy for a protest against these characteristics to be repeated so frequently.
According to him, “the mobilizations will move towards the member states” and notes that the European Commission does not have much room for maneuver. Until now, says Moraleda, states have avoided making decisions regarding increasing contributions to the community budget in relation to GDP or tax harmonization. “It is impossible to have such a common defense policy and a CAP like this,” says this expert who believes that if there is no decision on the community budget, cuts will have to be made elsewhere. “Community budgets are communicating vessels,” confirms this expert.
EU trade policy is the other big “bete noire” for much of the European agricultural sector, particularly Mercosur, which they say could open the door to “desirable competition”.
Tick, tock… Farewell to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)?
But what consequences could the “snip” proposed by the Commission have? In Spain they receive help from the CAP 582,085 farmers and breeders for the current 2025 campaign, which represents a declared area of 22.1 million declared hectares. 0.5% less than in 2024, while the number of beneficiary farms continues to decrease (-2.7%) over one year. There are fewer but the average surface area is increasing. Which experts consider as a sample of the professionalization of the sector. The total amount of direct aid (the heart of the CAP, there is also support for rural development or certain crops), paid from October 16 of this year and the entirety of which will be paid no later than June 30, 2026, amounts to an amount of 4.889 million euros.
From COAG they made figures: Spain would stop receivingr 877.5 million euros annually in terms of direct aid. This would mean, according to their calculations, that farmers and ranchers would be forced to pass it on to original prices by about 2.32%. If we extrapolate to the entire agri-food chain, adding to the processing industry or distribution, this agricultural organization draws two scenarios for consumers: If industry and distribution absorbed 30% of the impact We Spaniards would see an increase in retail food prices of 6.5%. While the other scenario, when everything increased costs are passed on to the consumerr, the increase would be 9.3%. This would mean between 350 and 501 euros of additional spending per year for the basket per household.
“It is not only a problem of farmers’ income, but also the position of each country on international agri-food markets,” warns Fernando Moraleda (LLYC).
What does this mean for the shopping cart?
Moraleda (LLYC) recalls that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has always been present in all discussions on the EU’s multiannual budgetary plans and, according to him, it is the only compulsory cohesion policy in each remaining member state. For the consultant we face “a time bomb for the CAP: the beginning of the end” and believes that the consequences go beyond a more than likely increase in the final prices of foodstuffs for European consumers. “It is not only a problem of farmers’ income, but also the position of each country on international agri-food markets,” warns this analyst who believes that the income policy that is the CAP and competitiveness on the markets go hand in hand. In other words, what is in question is “the status quo of these markets” and, furthermore, the food sovereignty of the entire community bloc.
For the head of the LLYC Food Office, the most worrying thing is the “renationalisation” which permeates the current Commission proposal. “since this would mean a loss of market unity.” In other words, Member States with greater economic power could finance their farmers and breeders more generously. A real problem for competition in the single European market. “Farm income support can mean more than 30% of income depending on the culture in Spain”, Moraleda confirms. In addition, he adds, countries “that would have more capacity to maintain minimum agricultural production” would have greater food sovereignty.
About The Author
