The agri-food industry is expected to benefit from the European Competitiveness Fund, a new instrument planned under the European Union’s 2028–2034 budget, according to Krzysztof Hetman, a Member of the European Parliament representing the Polish People’s Party.
Discussions on the details of the support are currently taking place across the EU institutions. Amendments are also being submitted to documents concerning the future Common Agricultural Policy. The Polish MEP believes that farmers’ interests in the EU budget after 2027 have already been safeguarded.
“There is a separate budget for agriculture. First, direct payments across the European Union have been secured at a total level of €300 billion. This amount will preserve direct payments on a one-to-one basis compared with the current level,” Krzysztof Hetman told the Newseria news agency.
“Second, work is currently under way and amendments are being submitted to various documents relating to the Common Agricultural Policy. We already know that the second pillar, although it is not formally visible in the proposed structure, will be financed with resources that may be even greater than before. I am referring here to support for Polish farmers,” he added.
At least €300 billion earmarked for agriculture
Under the European Commission’s original proposal for the Common Agricultural Policy after 2027, agricultural funding would be incorporated into national and regional partnership plans.
A budget of at least €300 billion has been ring-fenced, including €293.7 billion for income support and €6.3 billion for a crisis mechanism.
Under the future national and regional partnership plans, EU member states are expected to have access to a broader pool of €453 billion to address their national priorities. This allocation will also cover measures supporting agriculture and rural areas.
The European Commission assumes that at least 10% of partnership plan funding, excluding amounts already reserved for other purposes, will be allocated to the specific needs of rural areas.
According to the Council of the European Union, each member state will be required to prepare a single comprehensive plan to receive funding from the future EU budget. This plan would replace separate programmes covering cohesion funding, agriculture, fisheries, migration and security, as well as the Social Climate Fund.
In June this year, the Council agreed on its partial negotiating position regarding the regulation governing national and regional partnership plans, endorsing the proposed structure.
However, the Council’s position does not cover financial and horizontal matters, which remain under negotiation as part of the work on the EU’s 2028–2034 budget.
The European Parliament is also preparing its position. A significant number of MEPs continue to support maintaining the Common Agricultural Policy’s existing two-pillar structure.
“We are now at a decisive stage of the negotiations, but we already know that we have managed to protect farmers’ interests in the EU budget after 2027,” Hetman said.
Poland’s agricultural allocation rises to €36.3 billion
Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Stefan Krajewski recently said that the original proposal provided Poland with approximately €24.6 billion for agriculture.
The amount currently secured has increased to €36.3 billion. When combined with national funding, the total support package is expected to reach approximately €50 billion.
In June, the Council of the EU also agreed on its position concerning the new European Competitiveness Fund.
Under the European Commission’s proposal, the instrument would consolidate 14 existing programmes into a single framework, simplify access to EU funding and attract additional private investment.
The fund will focus on four priority areas. One of them covers health, biotechnology, agriculture and the bioeconomy.
“The agri-food processing industry will certainly be included in the European Competitiveness Fund. The remaining question is the scale of the support it will receive. This is currently the subject of negotiations and debate among the individual member states,” Hetman explained.
“Poland’s position is clear. We must maintain a geographical balance in the allocation of funding so that we do not repeat the situation seen in some other programmes, where several countries received almost 70% of the resources available under a particular fund.”
“I am convinced that, just as we have repeatedly demonstrated our effectiveness over the past two years, this matter will also be brought to a successful conclusion. We will then be certain that Poland’s agri-food industry will be covered by the European Competitiveness Fund,” the MEP added.
Funding could support innovation and food security
During a recent parliamentary debate, Hetman stressed that the competitiveness of European agriculture requires a stable and predictable financial framework.
The European Competitiveness Fund could become an instrument enabling the sector to respond to global challenges, including rising production costs, pressure from imports and the consequences of climate change.
It could allow farmers and businesses to invest in innovation, technology and infrastructure.
However, for the fund to effectively support Polish agriculture, Hetman believes it must be designed in a way that reflects the diversity of production structures and the different needs of individual member states.
Such an approach would strengthen not only the competitiveness of the agricultural sector but also the European Union’s food security.
The European Commission has proposed allocating a total of €234.3 billion to the European Competitiveness Fund. Together with the €175 billion planned for the Horizon Europe programme, this would provide a combined €409 billion to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness.
