The group representing young farmers in the EU has said that the process of finalising the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027 is set to be "long and chaotic".

The European Commission published its long-awaited proposals for the next CAP yesterday (Wednesday, July 16), alongside proposals for the EU's long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

The proposals were met with widespread concern from farm organisations and many politicians at an Irish and EU level.

CEJA, which represents young farmer organisations in the EU, said that the commission's CAP proposals were "hampered by a weak and unclear governance framework, leaving too much room for interpretation".

While CEJA said that the proposals contained some promising developments on generational renewal, as well as a 6% earmarking of funds for young farmers, the proposed new 'National and Regional Partnerships', which will see funding merged for separate policy areas, "reveals a rushed process" and sets the EU up for a "long and chaotic legislative procedure and programming period".

"By limiting transparency and reducing opportunities for stakeholder input on the structure of the new MFF, the commission has taken the risk of undermining the trust of farmers and citizens," CEJA claimed.

Among the points in the new CAP plan that CEJA welcomed is the "starter pack" for young farmers, which the group said includes tools for social and economic resilience.

The young farmer organisation also welcomed an increased focus on risk management and investment capacity; targeting direct payments to active farmers; a "new approach" to farm stewardship and agri-environmental payments; and an obligation on member states to provide farmers with adequate risk coverage and crisis management.

CEJA also said it welcomes the proposal to mutually exclude basic payments and pensions for older farmers.

However, these interventions, CEJA said, are undermined by the belief at a political level that the EU must simplify its budgetary framework by "slashing into a well-established, ever-improving CAP governance model".

CEJA president Peter Meedendorp commented: "“On the content, we welcome the importance given to young farmers and their needs in the proposals, especially the provision to increase the earmarking for generational renewal instruments.

CEJA said it is "worried that this new framework, with its shaky governance, leaves too much room for interpretation in the hands of member states, and creates much more complexity for farming and rural areas, with definitions, interventions and reporting spread across different pieces of legislation".

"Agricultural legislators in the European Commission, [European] Parliament and Council [of the EU] must be the ones responsible for the CAP legislative process ahead," the group said.

"The rushed and opaque legislative proposal design that happened over the last few months represents a serious setback for the quality and legitimacy of EU policymaking, as witnessed today. CEJA is not opposed to change when it is motivated, transparent and within a clear governance framework," the group added.

CEJA said: "In this case, young farmers would have preferred to discuss the future of the MFF without being presented with a done deal. CEJA will now gear towards a long and complex legislative process, counting on the support of co-legislators to preserve young farmers’ faith in their CAP."