The EU should undertake a major overhaul of its €387bn Common Agricultural Policy to subsidise farmers based on their income rather than the size of their farms, according to a report commissioned by Brussels in response to violent farmers’ protests.
The recommendations will be presented by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday. They follow consultations among farmers, NGOs, consumer and food retailers that culminated in three marathon day-and-night negotiating sessions last week, underlining deeply divided opinions over the future of farming.
“Business as usual is not an option,” said a draft of the report from the so-called Strategic Dialogues on the Future of EU Agriculture, seen by the Financial Times. “Bold and swift action at all levels is needed” to tackle the “multiple crises” affecting farmers, including increased impacts from extreme weather such as drought, from inflation and from low-cost global competitors.