Eastern agriculture ministers oppose EU cuts for farmers

The agriculture ministers of the eastern German states warn of far-reaching negative consequences of the planned reduction in EU agricultural funding from 2028. The plans to limit and reduce funding for larger farms would weaken companies with employees subject to social security contributions in particular and would be rejected, the ministers from Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia announced on the fringes of the Green Week agricultural trade fair.

"They ignore labor input, value creation, regional responsibility and employment effects and lead to a systematic disadvantage for currently efficient farms, especially in the eastern German states." The common EU agricultural policy must treat all farms equally. The eastern German state farmers' associations also took part in the meeting.

Ministers see east particularly affected

Brandenburg's Agriculture Minister Hanka Mittelstädt (SPD), who had invited people to the meeting, said: "All eastern German states would be negatively affected by the current plans.

Saxony's Agriculture Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch (CDU) said that just under 1,400 farms would be affected by the plans in Saxony. This corresponds to around a fifth of all farms.

EU Commission wants to guarantee less money

The European Commission only wants to guarantee farmers in the EU around 300 billion euros in the budget for the years 2028 to 2034 - that would be more than 20 percent less than estimated in the current seven-year budget period. Member states are to reduce the annual amount of area-related funding above a certain limit.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is, however, proposing that EU member states can request more funding for agriculture from Brussels earlier than previously planned. This involves around 45 billion euros, which can be mobilized from 2028.