The agreement in principle, which now requires ratification by the European Council and the European Parliament, focuses on easing regulations for farmers and reducing administrative costs for Member States. This is expected to save the agricultural sector approximately €1.6 billion in compliance expenses. The deal was reached after negotiations stalled in October due to disagreements between Parliament and the Council over environmental standards.

Notably, Jacob Jensen, Denmark’s Minister for Agriculture and Food (Denmark currently holds the EU Council presidency), emphasized that farmers will be granted “more flexibility in implementing green standards.”

The new package introduces a cap of one on-site inspection per year, increases flat-rate payments for small farmers from €1,250 to €3,000, and reduces penalties and unnecessary controls for small farmers with holdings up to 30 hectares.

Support remains during times of crisis

The agreement also maintains the Commission’s proposal allowing Member States to provide financial support to farmers affected by natural disasters or adverse weather conditions.

The political significance of the agreement is reflected in positive reactions from the major political groups in the European Parliament, who say it demonstrates that Europe is “listening to the farmers.” Additionally, the largest groups—European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists and Democrats, Liberals, and Greens—secured three key compromise proposals from the Commission regarding the new seven-year European budget (2028–2034).

Only the EPP offers full support

Facing the potential rejection of her proposal in tomorrow’s European Parliament plenary debate, the Commission President yesterday pledged to:

• Set a target of 10% of pre-allocated funds for Member States outside the direct payments of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),
• Restore agricultural policy to the core of the CAP,
• Allocate an additional €2 billion for fisheries,
• Strengthen the role of regions in cohesion policy fund distribution.

While the EPP hailed this as an important “victory,” other political groups described the Commission’s proposals as “a step in the right direction” but reserved their final judgment for future discussions. The new budget agreement is expected by the end of 2026.

The Commission will continue to work on the matter until then.