East German farmers' associations call for adjustments to the EU budget

Ahead of the budget debate at the EU summit in Brussels, farmers' associations in eastern Germany have called for fundamental revisions. The current proposals are insufficient to solve the core problems of future European agricultural funding, according to the farmers’ associations of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. 

“Anyone who declares food security, competitiveness, resilience, and strong rural areas to be European priorities must also create the necessary financial conditions to achieve them,” said Klaus Wagner, president of the Thuringian Farmers’ Association, according to the report.

EU Summit Discusses Trillion-Euro Budget

On Thursday and Friday in Brussels, the heads of state and government of the European Union will address, among other things, the EU budget for the years 2028 through 2034. The current Irish EU Council Presidency presented a new budget proposal on Saturday with a total framework of 1.826 trillion euros.

Farmers’ associations are critical of the fact that no separate agricultural budget is planned. They are backing a demand by the German Farmers’ Association for 500 billion euros in earmarked funds for agriculture.

So far, funding for agriculture has been planned as part of a comprehensive financial framework that also covers migration and fisheries, among other areas. A total of 294 billion euros has been earmarked for direct payments to farms. Additional agricultural support comes from the rural development fund, which also covers other areas.

Criticism of Lack of Funding for Measures and Cuts

There is a lack of reliable funding for rural development measures, agri-environmental measures, and agricultural investments, said Olaf Feuerborn, president of the Saxony-Anhalt Farmers’ Association. He also called for adequate protection against inflation so that the agricultural budget does not lose value in real terms.

The associations also warned against the planned cuts to subsidy amounts and a possible cap of 300,000 euros per farm. These would severely disadvantage labor-intensive, larger farms, multi-family farms, and other established farm structures.