[Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters]
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Tuesday to give member states early access to some agriculture funds from the 2028-2034 EU budget to help farmers ahead of a meeting to discuss a trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur.
“To ensure additional resources are available as of 2028 for addressing the needs of farmers and rural communities, I propose that member states will have access when submitting their initial plan to up to two thirds of the amount normally available for the midterm review,” she said in a letter addressed to the member states and the parliament.
This represents about €45 billion that can be mobilized immediately to support farmers,” she added.
She sent the letter one day before a meeting of EU agriculture ministers convened last-minute to convince Italy and other wavering member countries to sign up to a contentious free trade deal with Mercosur. [Reuters]