'European budget for agriculture down'

The European Union (EU) will have to reorganize considerably in the future multi-year budget. "Due to Brexit and the changed society, there is not enough money. That would mean that European member states would have to pay more," said Jean-Claude Junker, president of the European Commission (EC).

With Brexit, €2020 to €12 billion per year will disappear from the budget from 13 onwards. In addition, the financing of migration, defense policy and extra border security is putting pressure on the budget.

Current percentage not sufficient
Juncker concludes that the current contribution of 1% of GDP per Member State is insufficient to meet Europe's ambitions and challenges. "The continent costs European taxpayers 1 cup of coffee a day, I think the European Union (EU) is worth more," Juncker said Monday, January 8 at the European budget conference.

European Commissioner Günther Oettinger agrees with Juncker. Oettinger proposes closing the gap in the budget with 50% savings and 50% additional revenues from the member states. According to Oettinger, the budget for agriculture after 2020 must be reduced to 30% of the total budget, where it is currently 38%.

Dutch Member of the European Parliament Tom Vandenkdelaere, member of the European Agriculture Commission, expects the agricultural budget to have to rely on it. He argues that it is necessary to adjust the subsidy policy in the agricultural sector in order to absorb the reduction in budget.

Concrete proposal
The EC will present the concrete budget proposal in May of this year. Then there will be more clarity about what will happen to the agricultural budget, among other things.

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