Agricultural subsidies, merged with cohesion policy, would decrease by 20%.

Omissions

• The 20% figure is an approximate value cited in media reports; the exact calculated reduction depends on the baseline used (current prices vs. constant prices).
• The merger proposal creates a new budget heading 'Sustainable Prosperity and Competitiveness' that combines not just CAP and cohesion policy but potentially other funds as well.
• The proposal was published in July 2025, which is before the session date of April 2026 but represents a relatively recent development that MEPs would have been aware of.
• The figures refer to the Commission's proposal for the next multiannual financial framework (2028-2034), not to an already enacted budget.

Sources

• SecondaryEuronewsThe European Commission is considering a major overhaul of the EU's long-term budget by merging the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with cohesion policy, published July 14, 2025.
• SecondaryEuronewsEurope's agricultural spending will face cuts compared to the current programming period under the new EU long-term budget proposal. The CAP budget would be reduced from approximately €387 billion (2021-2027) to around €300 billion for the next period.
• SecondaryEuractivThe CAP budget for the next spending period will be €300 billion, down from the current 2021-2027 budget of €387 billion. This represents a reduction of approximately 22.5% in nominal terms.