On the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2027 – all sections

10.Urges reinforced support for risk-management and prevention tools, including insurance schemes, fully operational early-warning systems and veterinary and phytosanitary measures as essential pillars of a resilient agricultural sector; stresses the importance of preventive animal health measures, including vaccination, and calls for adequate funding for disease prevention, development, innovation and availability of veterinary vaccines and coordinating the purchase and supply of these vaccines at EU level through a preparedness mechanism, harmonised vaccination strategies across Member States, the effective application of regionalisation principles and compensation mechanisms for livestock farmers affected by animal disease outbreaks;

11.Highlights that rising fertiliser prices, supply disruptions and reduced affordability of key agricultural inputs place significant pressure on farmers across the Union, with repercussions on food security and throughout the food chain; acknowledges the recent Commission proposal to reinforce the agricultural reserve and the targeted CAP adjustments enabling faster and more flexible support for farmers; regrets, however, that the funding is drawn from the EAGF sub-margin and does not constitute fresh additional resources; stresses the need for support measures that avoid distortions of the internal market and reflect actual sector needs across Member States; calls for adequate resources, including additional resources where necessary, to ensure farmers’ access to key inputs and to reduce the Union’s vulnerability to external supply shocks, while safeguarding agricultural productivity and food security; stresses the need to invest in the domestic production of key agricultural inputs and in innovative and circular alternatives, with a view to reducing dependence on imported inputs and strengthening the Union’s strategic autonomy;

Trade, promotion and competitiveness

12.Underlines that, in a context of trade challenges, including market barriers, tariffs and instability, adequate funding for promotion programmes is essential to support EU agri-food exports, improve access to new markets, enhance the competitiveness of EU agri-food products, and contribute to Europe’s food security and strategic autonomy; expresses deep concern that the Commission's draft budget for 2027 proposes a significant reduction in funding for the promotion policy, which is inconsistent with the Commission's stated ambitions to increase the recognition and uptake of European agri-food products, and calls for the budget to be maintained at least at the 2026 level;

13.Stresses that European agriculture must remain competitive and capable of ensuring strategic food production while maintaining high quality, sustainability, affordability and safety standards with a view to achieving greater strategic autonomy and long-term resilience;

14.Insists that the principle of reciprocity must be reflected in the 2027 budget through adequate funding for sanitary, phytosanitary and customs controls at the Union’s external borders, in order to ensure that imported agri-food products comply with the required production standards and to ensure a level playing field for European farmers; calls for sufficient appropriations to support sectors most exposed to the cumulative effects of trade agreements;

Rural development and generational renewal

15.Reaffirms the importance of rural development funding in maintaining attractive, resilient and dynamic rural and remote areas, supporting quality employment, social cohesion, growth, innovation and territorial balance, improving access to services of general interest and addressing depopulation and demographic decline; stresses the need to ensure adequate support for regions facing permanent structural constraints, including the outermost regions; recalls, in this context, the importance of the POSEI programme for agricultural production, food security, farmers’ incomes and territorial cohesion in the outermost regions, and calls for its full protection in the 2027 budget;

16.Stresses that, as the implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans progresses throughout the current programming period, the 2027 budget must reflect the actual needs in payment appropriations under the EAFRD in order to avoid delays in payments and ensure legal certainty for beneficiaries;

17.Insists that generational renewal is one of the most pressing structural challenges facing European agriculture, with less than 12 % of EU farm managers under the age of 40, and that the 2027 budget must reflect the political ambition to reverse this trend; stresses the importance of ensuring fair and viable incomes for farmers and calls for enhanced targeted support for young and new farmers, particularly women, through improved access to land, finance, training, innovation and investments supporting the digital transition, including mentoring and practical exchange initiatives, as well as support for business planning and farm succession; recalls the importance of the mentoring and exchange program for women in agriculture; urges Member States to make farming more attractive in order to secure long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the agricultural sector and rural areas; emphasises that generational renewal is a key for food security and the socio-economic sustainability of rural areas, as well as the continued addressing of climate change;

Innovation, sustainability and resilience

18.Emphasises that the challenges faced by farmers require continued investment in innovation, digitalisation, sustainability, training and advisory services, in order to improve the efficiency, sustainability and precision of agricultural systems, ensure more effective use of Union resources, ensure that innovation and new technologies are accessible to farmers of all sizes and across all regions, including through improved rural connectivity, and enhance the attractiveness and economic development of rural areas;

19.Calls for increased funding for research, development and innovation, notably under Horizon Europe, including Cluster 6, and highlights the role of digitalisation in agriculture and agri-food sector, including precision farming, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new genomic techniques, irrigation systems and practical farm-level solutions improving productivity, resilience and sustainability; stresses that EU farmers must have timely and affordable access to these tools;

20.Underlines the need for strong and dedicated funding under Horizon Europe for agriculture, food systems and rural innovation, while ensuring that such funding remains accessible to all farmers, paying special attention to small farms, research institutions and rural stakeholders across the Union; notes that such funding is essential to strengthen the competitiveness and preparedness of the agricultural sector and to support its adaptation to challenges, including climate change and animal diseases;

21.Supports balanced and pragmatic approaches to sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation and environmental protection that do not undermine farm viability, food production and the economic development and resilience of rural areas;

22.Calls for reinforced investment in water resilience, sustainable water management, the sustainable modernisation and expansion of irrigation systems, including, where appropriate, the sustainable development of irrigated area, water retention, soil health, and measures to strengthen the resilience of agriculture and its adaptation to increasingly frequent droughts, floods and extreme weather events;

23.Stresses the strategic importance of reducing the Union’s dependence on imported plant proteins and calls for adequate appropriations to support the implementation of a robust European protein strategy, including investment in research, breeding, processing capacity and value chains for leguminous crops and other protein sources;

Future outlook

24.Stresses that the final year of the current MFF should provide a solid basis for the post-2027 CAP and avoid creating funding gaps, uncertainty or disruptions during the transition to the next programming period, particularly for sectoral programmes, in particular fruit and vegetables sector; underlines the need, therefore, for a robust and dedicated CAP budget after 2027, maintaining the current two-pillar structure of the CAP, and stresses that future policy developments, such as possible enlargement, should be adequately reflected in the next MFF in order to safeguard food security, competitiveness and a fair standard of living for farmers, including through better targeting of support to persons actively engaged in agricultural production;

25.Concludes that the 2027 budget must strike a careful balance between continuity, resilience, competitiveness and preparedness for future challenges, while ensuring that the CAP remains adequately funded and capable of supporting European farmers and rural communities.