Paris, Dublin, Madrid, Lisbon Seek Alliance Against EU Farm Funding - Reports

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - France, Ireland, Spain and Portugal seek to set up an alliance against the reduction of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding envisaged in the EU budget proposal for 2021-2027, Euractiv news reported.

According to the Euractiv news outlet, French Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert expressed his strong opposition to the cuts in aid to farmers during a meeting with his Irish counterpart Michael Creed last week.

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The two ministers reportedly joined their Spanish and Portuguese counterparts in a bid to oppose the cuts.

Agricultural countries like Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, and Romania could also potentially join the alliance, while northern European countries and Germany, which have consistently called for rethinking the CAP as well as a budget reduction, may resist the alliance’s plans, the outlet noted.

On May 2, the European Commission proposed the European Union's long-term 2021-2027 budget, worth 1.279 billion euro ($1.500 billion). The proposal also envisaged a 5-percent cut in CAP funding, which immediately got a negative reaction from the main recipients of the policy.

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The new draft budget is now to be considered by the Council of the European Union with the consent of the European Parliament.