The EU agricultural reform negotiations ended without an agreement

The latest round of negotiations within the European Union (EU) on reforms of the extensive agricultural subsidy program ended on Friday without an agreement. The negotiating teams will therefore return to the negotiating table in June. Their aim is to introduce rules for the protection of small farms and the suppression of the negative impact of agriculture on the environment. The EU is nearing the end of its three-year struggle for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). About one third of the Union's budget for 2021-2027 goes to the CAP. More specifically, EUR 387 billion is earmarked for payments to farmers and support for rural development, with EUR 270 billion going to direct aid to European farmers. The new rules are due to apply from 2023. The aim of modernization is to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, which puts pressure on European habitats and species and is responsible for 10% of the Union's greenhouse gas emissions. "Although progress has been made in a number of areas, several key issues remain unresolved in the end. Therefore, it was decided to postpone the talks to June," EU member states said on Friday. An unnamed EU official said on Friday that an agreement could not be reached because even after Thursday night's talks, the bloc's member states did not reach a compromise to be submitted to the European Parliament and the European Commission. However, informal talks may continue on Friday, but it will not be possible to take any decisions at them, until in June at renewed formal negotiations, he added. European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said the negotiators were "very close" to the agreement and hoped it would be reached in June. Three days of talks between agriculture ministers and MEPs on CAP reform since 2023 have failed at the request of legislators to make subsidies "greener". During debates this week, MEPs insisted that 30% of direct aid go to farmers who participate in strictly defined environmental programs. EU ministers, in turn, pushed for 20% for easier bureaucracy. "We need ambitious goals, but they must be achievable," Portuguese Agriculture Minister Maria do Céu Antunes said on Wednesday. European Parliament negotiator Anne Sander of the Conservative EPP called for "balance". "We will try to find an agreement in June. Everyone has to take responsibility. Without economic sustainability (in agricultural income) there will be no environmental and climate sustainability," she added.