Author: Raquel Pastor Carretero (AEIDL)
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published its opinion on the European Commission’s proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for the 2028–2034 period, offering independent expert advice to the European Parliament and the Council. The auditors highlight several risks linked to the proposed redesign of the CAP’s funding and governance structure, emphasising the importance of accountability, coherence and full traceability of EU agricultural funding.
Under the Commission’s €2 trillion proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, support for the Common Agricultural Policy would no longer be channelled through a dedicated agricultural fund, but instead financed via a new single European Fund, that merges several existing instruments and is implemented through one national plan per Member State, the National and Regional Partnership Plans.
This marks the first major transformation of the CAP’s governance model since its creation in 1962. For the first time, agricultural spending would no longer be managed through a dedicated EU agricultural fund but instead integrated into a broader multipolicy financial instrument. This reform would fundamentally reshape the CAP’s longstanding two pillar structure— traditionally separating direct support and market measures from rural development—by merging these components into a unified programming framework. This raises significant questions regarding the visibility of agricultural spending within a consolidated fund, the stability and predictability of support for beneficiaries, and the capacity to maintain coherent EU level objectives while granting Member States greater flexibility in designing and implementing their national plans.
In its opinion, the ECA identifies, among others, the following overarching concerns regarding the proposed CAP framework for 2028–2034:
- Increased complexity: The new planning and legal architecture risks creating uncertainty, slowing implementation, and undermining simplification goals.
- Risk to the “common” nature of the CAP: Greater national flexibility could lead to fragmentation and unfair competition unless the Commission exercises strong steering.
- Uncertainty in funding: Final CAP allocations will only be known after national plans are approved, reducing predictability for farmers.
- Lack of clarity on performance rules: Unclear distinctions between output‑based and milestone‑based payments could lead to inconsistent implementation and weaker accountability.
- Need to consolidate CAP rules: The interinstitutional agreement to move agricultural provisions from the Fund regulation into the CAP regulation is welcome, but more should be moved to ensure coherence.
Overall, the ECA supports the direction of the reform but warns that complexity, uncertainty, and fragmentation could undermine the CAP’s effectiveness unless the Commission strengthens its steering role and ensures traceability, coherence, and a genuinely “common” policy framework.
Several of the issues highlighted in the opinion are closely aligned with the themes addressed by the Tools4CAP project. Although the ECA opinion does not explicitly refer to tools or methodologies, its emphasis on accountability, clarity and comparability echoes with the project’s focus on strengthening planning and monitoring capacities for future CAP strategic frameworks. These aspects are also reflected in the conclusions of the Tools4CAP Policy Brief “CAP 2028–2034: Navigating Change for an EvidenceBased Policy”, which examines how Member States can reinforce strategic planning and performance-oriented approaches in the next programming period.