Why this matters 

Agriculture is not just an economic sector - it is a cornstone of food security, rural vitality, and strategic autonomy for the European Union. The CAP and MFF framework for 2028-2035 must enable Europe to maintain stable food supply chains in times of geopolitical uncertainty, deliver on climate and biodiversity commitments without undermining farm viability, support generational renewal and innovation, and ensure fair competition in global markets. Finland's position is particularly sensitive: as a net contributor and an Easter border state, it faces unique challenges in maintaining agricultural competitiveness under harsh climatic conditions and long supply chains. 

Assessment of Comission Proposals

The Comission's proposals include positive developments. Budget simplifications under the National and Regional Partnership (NRP) framework improves transparency. The shift from compliance-based conditionality to incentive-driven measures through the Farm Stewardship system is welcome, as is the introduction of a one-off transition measure to de-risk sustainability shifts. The Unity Safety Net for market crises and updates to the Common Market Organisation (CMO) also represent constructive progress. 

However, MTK has serious concerns. Minimum allocations for CAP income support risk underfunding essential measures. Degressive income support and capping, as currently designed, penalize efficient family farms and undermine investment capasity. Linking coupled support to the amount of the degressive income support creates zero-sum trade-offs between income support and co-financed measures. Mandatory risk management schemes reduce flexibility and may crowd out effective national solutions. Finally, compensation for environmental and climate measures must be based on EU-level baselines, not stricter national rules, to ensure fairness and comparability. 

MTK´s Key Policy Recommendations

To address these concerns, MTK calls on policymakers to: 

• Secure an agricultural budget at least equal to today's real level to avoid erosion of funding and recognize agriculture's role in food security and resilience. 
• Target support to active producers and family farms, excluding pensioners from area-based income support after transition and maintaining coupled support for livestock and sensitive sectors. 
• Set degression and capping thresholds that reflect national realities, ensuring flexibility to avoid penalizing scale efficient family farms.  
• Maintain coupled support at current levels, decoupled from degressive income support to prevent harmful trade-offs. 
• Anchor environmental payments at EU-law baselines and reward early movers, ensuring fairness and recognizing past investments. 
• Keep risk management tools voluntary and adaptable, encouraging uptake through incentives rather than obligations.

MTK’s Ten Main Objectives for the CAP Reform 2028–2035 

1. Coupled support must be maintained at least at the current level. 

2. ANC (Areas with Natural Constraints) measures must cover all of Finland. 

3. Pioneers must be rewarded, not penalized. Compensation for climate, environmental, and welfare actions must be available for both new and existing efforts, and based on EU—not national—legislation. 

4. National co-financing opportunities must be preserved at least at the current level. 

5. CAP complementary national support must be possible also after 2027. 

6. A fairer food chain: Address unfair trading practices, increase transparency, and ensure a level playing field for farmers in the food market. 

7. Better and more accurate consumer information and improved market access for farmers. 

8. Focus on EU-level competitiveness: Policy must support the competitiveness of European agriculture globally. 

9. Growth in food exports: Support for export growth and internationalization of the food sector. 

10. Smart, targeted incentives: Encourage innovation, sustainability, and generational renewal in agriculture. 

It must remain possible in the future to implement tailor-made national support measures that uphold traditional agricultural practices across Finland. Our country is vast and diverse, with unique regions such as the archipelago, the Eastern border areas, and the long-distance landscapes of Lapland. In these areas, traditional farming plays a vital role in sustaining rural communities. It also helps attract young farmers and entrepreneurs when combined with rural development instruments designed to meet local needs. 

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