EPP Agriculture Ministers, chaired by Sari Essayah, Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and Herbert Dorfmann MEP, EPP Group Coordinator on Agriculture and Rural Development, gathered today in Brussels to exchange views on the key priorities for European agriculture. They also welcomed Martin Heydon, Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, representing the Irish Presidency of the EU Council. Discussions among the EPP Ministers focused on the future post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the National and Regional Partnership Regulation (NRP), ahead of the AGRIFISH Council and in the context of negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034. Ministers stressed the need to preserve a strong, genuinely common and adequately funded CAP, while allowing sufficient flexibility to reflect different farming systems and national circumstances. Regarding the next MFF, Ministers called for a stronger ring-fenced CAP envelope, stressing that agriculture requires adequate and predictable funding to respond to growing challenges, strengthen food security and improve farmers' resilience. They also highlighted the need for more robust crisis and risk-management instruments and sufficient support for agricultural investment and food processing. Ministers welcomed progress on the implementation of the European Commission's Livestock Strategy and Protein Action Plan, including measures to strengthen European livestock production, domestic protein production and agricultural value chains, while reducing strategic dependencies. Ministers also exchanged views on the Food and Feed Safety Omnibus and the Fertiliser Action Plan. They supported meaningful simplification for farmers and expressed concern over persistently high fertiliser prices. Ministers  jointly underlined that a strong agricultural sector is essential for Europe's competitiveness, food security and resilience.


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