Seventeen EU leaders urge Irish presidency to protect farm funds

Coalition demands farm fund protection

Romanian President Nicusor Dan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni led a coalition of 17 EU leaders in a letter to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin demanding that the next Multiannual Financial Framework safeguard funding for the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy, according to the letter released on Saturday. The leaders stressed that these treaty-based policies remain the "backbone" of European integration and must not be sacrificed to address new challenges.

Southern and eastern states join call

The initiative drew support from Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and the Greek Cypriot administration, the letter noted. While acknowledging the difficulties facing the bloc, the signatories argued that further reductions would not modernize the EU budget but would "only weaken" it and risk eroding public support for the European project.

Warning on 'backbone' policies

The leaders emphasized that "Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy are long-standing policies, but their objectives are as relevant as ever," adding: "We therefore believe that the overall funding for Cohesion Policy and the CAP must be preserved in the next MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework)." The letter comes as Dublin steers the rotating Council presidency during critical budget negotiations, with the Commission expected to present revised proposals in the coming months.