CAP will be tricky subject if Iceland joins EU

The news that Iceland is to hold a referendum on joining the EU in August reminds us that, apart from fisheries, agriculture is likely to be one of the most difficult topics in any negotiations.   Iceland has a producer subsidy equivalent three times the OECD average and farmers on average receive nearly half their income from the state.

It is a small and shrinking sector, but is cherished and has some interesting innovations such as using geothermal power to grow tomatoes.   Cucumbers and herbs are also produced in this way all year round.

The sheep sector is unsurprisingly the largest and there is some dairy production.

CAP budget stays stable but different winners and losers

Professor Alan Matthews writes:'The likely size of the CAP budget in the next programming period 2028-2034 has been highly contentious since the publication of the Commission’s MFF proposal last July. Among agricultural stakeholders, the AGRI Committee in the Parliament, and the AGRIFISH Council, the amount available for the CAP under its two Pillars in the current programming period was compared with the size of the minimum ring-fenced amount for CAP income support in the proposal and found wanting.

The Commission, on the other hand, has insisted on the potential for a larger CAP budget depending on the choices made by Member States. In my latest post Professor Matthews concludes that the Commission is broadly right. 

Assuming the Commission MFF proposal is agreed (a big if!), the CAP budget will be broadly similar to the current CAP in current prices and possibly bigger. However, its distribution between Member States will be different. For some Member States, especially Denmark, Austria and Ireland, it will not be possible to maintain their current CAP receipts, but other Member States already have a larger CAP budget than in the current period assuming they fully use their 'Mercosur' concession.

Full analysis here: https://capreform.eu/the-likely-size-of-the-cap-budget-in-the-next-mff-reprise/