Hands off our money, farmers say as EU plans budget shake-up

BRUSSELS — European farmers have a blunt message for Brussels: Keep the cash flowing, or the tractors will hit the streets again.

The warning, issued Thursday by the European Union’s top farming lobbies, sets the stage for a summer showdown over billions of euros in taxpayer-funded subsidies to which farmers are entitled every year.

“We are ready,” Massimiliano Giansanti, the Italian president of Europe’s powerful Copa farming lobby, told reporters at a press conference in Brussels. “I’m a farmer. I have my tractor in my house … You see me with my suit, but I have the tractor and I’m ready.”

The European Commission is preparing to unveil its next long-term budget in July, and farmers fear the new plans could slash or restructure farm payments. At stake is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a €387 billion pot that represents nearly a third of the EU budget. For decades this money has subsidized farms and supported rural communities. Farmers argue it remains essential to Europe’s food security.

And yet, burdened with massive Covid-era debt and new priorities, the Commission is now weighing deep changes.

Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin recently reassured farmers that direct subsidies, currently worth €291 billion, will likely remain protected. But he offered no similar promise for the roughly €95.5 billion earmarked for rural development schemes, which fund green initiatives, young farmers and infrastructure.

Instead, Serafin has signaled this money could still be merged into a broader spending package, potentially giving national governments more freedom to direct the cash away from agriculture.

Farm leaders argue any change risks shattering Europe’s “common” farming policy and sparking a competitive scramble among member states. Lennart Nilsson, who represents Europe’s farm cooperatives under the Cogeca banner, warned Brussels not to underestimate farmers’ anger.

“I don’t think it’s impossible that farmers can locally start to think about taking to the streets again,” he said.

Europe’s capitals vividly remember last year’s farmer uprisings, when massive tractor convoys jammed city streets from Paris to Warsaw to protest EU environmental rules, rising costs and Ukrainian imports.

The farmers’ anger poses a tricky political challenge for the European Commission, which plans to reveal its new budget proposal on July 16. Last year’s demonstrations caught national governments off guard, highlighting the potential of farmers to create chaos.

Agriculture ministers across the EU have also lined up behind farmers, warning Brussels not to weaken the CAP. For many of them, the money is not just a support tool but a political safety valve, critical for managing rural discontent and preventing unrest. Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen has also joined the push, warning that if the EU tries to fund new priorities without expanding the overall budget, “everyone will have less — and everyone will be hungry at the end.”

Farm groups have launched a new campaign, “No security without CAP,” hoping to rally public and political support ahead of the upcoming budget negotiations. They say Brussels risks undermining Europe’s food security at a time of global instability and market volatility.

Copa-Cogeca leaders stressed that their priority for now remains influencing the Commission and member states behind closed doors. 

“We’re fighting to protect our farmers,” Giansanti said.