An Irish MEP has met with the president of the European Parliament to call on the president to back a ring-fenced budget for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Proposals on the EU's long-term budget - the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - are expected to be published by the European Commission in the next two weeks, which will determine the EU's spending priorities up to 2034.

There have been wide ranging concerns from farm organisations at home and abroad that the MFF will be radically overhauled to consolidate each member state's funding allocation into a single pot.

This could result in the end of ring-fenced funding for CAP, farm organisations fear.

In a meeting with European Parliament president Roberta Metsola - who's role in the parliament is similar to a speaker or presiding officer - Fine Gael MEP Nina Carberry discussed her "key priorities", which included the future of CAP.

Carberry, a substitute member of the EU's budget committee (and the only full or substitute Irish member of the committee), told Metsola that her "central priority" is the ring-fencing of the CAP in next MFF.

"We must ensure farmers can continue to count on stability and predictability in this area," Carberry said.

Carberry said that, during the meeting, she urged Metsola to uphold the parliament's position of protecting and increasing the CAP budget.

According to the Midlands--North-West MEP, the simplification of the CAP budget "must not come at the expense of reduced funding".

Carberry also said she highlighted the "crucial importance" of the parliament's president working closely with the Irish government and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon, who is set to chair the Council of the EU's agriculture ministers meetings when Ireland takes up the rotating presidency of the council in the second half of 2026.

Both Carberry and Metsola are part of the same political grouping in the parliament, the European Peoples Party (EPP), of which Fine Gael is a member.