The European Parliament adopted its report on the future Common Agricultural Policy on 10 September, setting out its post-2027 vision for EU food and farming policies. The non-legislative report called for maintaining the CAP’s two-pillar structure and robust rural development funding, both missing from the Commission’s recent multi-annual budget proposal. 

As inflation threatens to slash CAP funding by up to 54% (equivalent to €250 billion by 2034), lawmakers are pushing back against budget cuts that could heavily impact rural areas. Euromontana reiterates the need for a place-based approach, with 15% earmarked funding within the CAP for areas with natural constraints. 

Euromontana welcomes the focus on addressing generational renewal in farming, with only 6% of EU farmers under 35,  the report calls for targeted support for young and female farmers who face significant barriers, including access to land and low profitability. 

Mountain areas get specific mention, with the report calling for continued compensation in “areas with natural constraints, such as mountainous, arid, island, border, outermost and disadvantaged regions” to prevent land abandonment and demographic decline.  

There is an absence of support for ringfenced funding for climate and environment, with objectives shifting from regulation to incentives. Euromontana also notes the lack of reference to extensive livestock systems, despite their potential for biodiversity. 

On income support, while the Parliament has only called for an impact assessment on degressive capping rather than bold reform of area-based payments, Euromontana continues to champion direct and targeted support for farmers in areas with natural constraints, young and new farmers, and active farms. 

Overall, the European Parliament echoes the Commission’s emphasis on security and competitiveness, highlighting food security and the resilience of European agriculture as central to Europe’s geopolitical stability. Euromontana stresses that these objectives must also translate into stronger, more tailored support for mountain farming – to secure fair incomes, sustain farming activity in mountain areas, and valorise the high-quality products that these territories bring to Europe’s tables. Mountain farming also plays a crucial role in maintaining landscapes and driving rural development, which makes its continued support even more essential.