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BRUSSELS – On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed that 45 billion euros be secured in advance from 2028 in the next seven-year budget for agricultural policy in order to calm farmers and ensure support for the signing of a trade agreement with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc.
On Tuesday, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter to the Cypriot Presidency and the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola in which she proposes that, in advance, starting from 2028, 45 billion euros be released to support the agricultural sector.
That amount is an advance of funds that would potentially be available later, during the mid-term review of the seven-year budget.
In July last year, the Commission published a proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) in which it pooled funds for agriculture and cohesion policy, which will be able to be used through national and regional partnership plans through which each member state will receive its financial envelope, as was the case with the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
In addition, funds for agriculture and cohesion, which in earlier seven-year budgets were separated into special programmes, have now been significantly reduced. Previously, about two thirds of the budget were intended for agriculture and cohesion, and now less than half has been proposed.
“In order to ensure the availability of additional funds from 2028 to address the needs of farmers and rural communities, I propose that member states, when submitting their initial plan, have access to up to two thirds of the amount that is otherwise available by the middle of the budget period. This represents around 45 billion euros that can be mobilised immediately to support farmers,” the letter from the President of the Commission says.
The letter was sent a day before an extraordinary meeting of agriculture ministers of the member states so that the Commission could obtain the support of some of the countries that oppose the signing of the agreement with Mercosur, which consists of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The agreement is most strongly opposed by France, Italy and Poland, whose farmers fear South American competition. A qualified majority of member states is needed to sign the agreement, and representatives of the member states are expected to discuss and vote on it on Friday. The President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen plans to travel to Paraguay on 12 January to sign the agreement if it receives sufficient support from the member states.
Negotiations on the trade agreement with Mercosur have been going on for more than 25 years. The agreement would allow the EU to export more cars, machinery, wine and spirits to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In return, the agreement would facilitate the import of South American meat, sugar, rice, honey and soy into Europe, which has caused alarm among farmers. (6 January 2026)