Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said after the ministers’ meeting that the concessions were part of a broader effort to secure backing for the Mercosur deal, which he described as “the biggest free-trade agreement we have negotiated.” Brussels, he added, had gone “further than ever before” with safeguards to address agriculture fears.
“We listened to the concerns of farmers and rural communities, and we acted,” Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said, arguing that the proposed €45 billion could be mobilized as soon as the next EU budget begins in 2028.
While this will significantly increase the EU’s agricultural funding in the short term, it will empty the EU’s crisis fund further down the line.
“Farmers are taking all the remaining flexibility in the budget,” said Eulalia Rubio, a senior fellow at the Jacques Delors Center think tank, noting that it will eat up EU spending on other areas.
The Commission is showing “its willingness to accept that member states use all flexibility in favor of agriculture [and] not in favor of cohesion [funding to poorer regions]” or other priorities, she said.
In a further concession to farmers, the Commission also pointed to a vaguely defined “rural target” worth €48 billion, floated late last year to keep the European Parliament on side during budget talks, as a pot that could be used first and foremost for agriculture.