The European Commission announced on Friday that EU member states can enhance the financial support they provide to farmers. This decision comes in response to farmers’ protests earlier this year, which highlighted issues such as low incomes, cheap food imports, and burdensome regulations.
Starting in October, member states will be allowed to pay higher advances of Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) funds, enabling farmers to receive up to 70% of direct payments in advance, and up to 85% for area and animal-based interventions. These figures represent an increase from the current 50% and 75%, respectively.
The Commission noted that EU farmers are facing significant liquidity challenges due to extreme weather events affecting yields, high interest rates, and rising prices for agricultural inputs and commodities. Previous measures to support farmers were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
In response to the protests, the EU has also made notable changes to its climate policies, including withdrawing a law aimed at reducing pesticide use, delaying biodiversity targets, and discarding goals to cut farming emissions from its 2040 climate roadmap.