Council’s partial general approach on NRPP and ECF: still a long way to go

Farm Europe acknowledges the Council’s adoption today of a partial general approach on the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP) and European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) legislative files. Further work needs to be carried out and deepened in order to fully support European farmers in their transition towards more efficient, resilient and profitable food systems and to ensure that the EU delivers on its sovereignty objectives.

Following their endorsement by Coreper on 14 June, Ministers reached agreement on key elements of these proposals. This marks a major step in the negotiations on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), locking the Council’s position on key elements while allowing work to move forward on others. Budgetary and other MFF-related elements will be addressed as part of the broader package negotiations.

Regarding the National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP) Regulation, Farm Europe acknowledges the achieved progress while stressing that several crucial issues remain unresolved. The Council’s partial general approach maintains the CAP as a chapter within the future National and Regional Partnership Plans rather than as an autonomous policy, raising important questions about the long-term governance and visibility of the CAP. 

While the Council retained the list of CAP measures in the NRP Regulation, the current approach does not reintroduce an environmental and production measure financed entirely through the CAP budget. Any environmental measures remain subject to co-financing requirements. Farm Europe considers that such a fully CAP-funded measure is necessary to ensure the financial credibility and balanced implementation of the policy across all Member States. 

Moreover, the application of the “Do No Significant Harm” principle to the CAP remains unfit for purpose for agriculture. Instead, it should be addressed within the CAP-specific framework, in line with the principle that sectoral legislation should prevail over horizontal rules.

Furthermore, Farm Europe regrets that the Council has not yet established within the EU Crisis Facility a dedicated agricultural reinsurance instrument, despite repeated calls from Agriculture Ministers, Commissioner Hansen and numerous Members of the European Parliament. 

Finally, the transitional derogation foreseen for 2028 reflects the considerable complexity foreseen in drafting and approving the new National and Regional Partnership Plans, highlighting the inconsistency of merging various funds and related policy implementations, and the need for distinct CAP plans. Enlargement discussions also make it advisable to provide for an autonomous review of the CAP framework, independent of developments in other regulations. 

As regards the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), Farm Europe considers that this fund should offer an essential source of additional funding, complementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), to support the transition towards more efficient and resilient food systems. To deliver on this objective, earmarking under the Fund must be binding, transparent, predictable and genuinely accessible to farming sectors.

The precisions introduced by the Council’s partial general approach to embrace a broader food systems perspective are welcome. While these additions represent a positive step forward, several critical elements remain absent. As acknowledged by the European Parliament Rapporteur Carlo Fidanza, the Competitiveness Fund should be a key instrument to finance large-scale projects of European interest that exceed the capacity of individual Member States. These investments are considered essential to reinforce the resilience of the EU’s agri-food system, particularly in light of increasing climate, economic, and geopolitical pressures.

Against a backdrop of growing geopolitical instability, food security must be recognised as a strategic component of Europe’s economic resilience and overall security. Farm Europe therefore calls for a dedicated allocation within the ECF to support strategic storage capacities for agricultural products and critical inputs, as well as targeted support for digital and water resilience infrastructures in the agricultural sector. Such investments are essential to safeguarding agricultural production, strengthening resilience to climate and market shocks, and preserving European rural areas’ vitality.

Farm Europe therefore looks to Ireland, in its Presidency role, to provide strong leadership and ensure progress on these key priorities, with the objective of safeguarding the CAP’s autonomy, predictability and unity, while also enhancing support and investment opportunities through the ECF.