On 16 July 2025, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for the EU’s post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as part of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The reaction? Widespread concern, not least from the animal welfare community.
According to independent analyses, the Commission’s proposal risks replicating, or even worsening, the shortcomings of the current CAP. Instead of creating a results-driven, sustainability-oriented framework, the new model consolidates various EU funds into a broad €865 billion envelope with weaker central oversight, fewer targeted instruments and greater national discretion.
You will find the full Commission proposal here.
We have raised our concerns with the Commission: animal welfare must not remain an afterthought in the future CAP. We’ve called for dedicated, enforceable objectives, not vague aspirations or discretionary national schemes.
Why? Because the lessons of the current 2023–2027 CAP are clear. While over €35 billion is formally linked to animal health and welfare, most of this is spent on poorly targeted measures with little to no proven impact on animals’ actual conditions. Critical welfare actions, such as phasing out cages, ensuring meaningful outdoor access, or funding genuine enrichment, remain marginal or completely absent in most national Strategic Plans.
Many current welfare schemes merely reward the status quo, such as providing support for grazing practices that are already widespread, or offer symbolic increases in space allowances that fall far short of scientific standards recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Even more worrying is the proposed shift away from dedicated animal welfare instruments toward bundled national spending plans, with little guarantee that meaningful welfare improvements will be funded at all. Without clear EU-level benchmarks, earmarked funding and enforceable measures, there’s a real risk the next CAP will further widen the gap between citizens’ expectations and the grim reality of animals on farms.
And that expectation is loud and clear: EU citizens consistently support better treatment of animals and greater accountability in how public money is spent.
We therefore urge the European Commission to:
- Establish specific and measurable animal welfare targets for the CAP 2028–2034 period
- Ensure dedicated funding for proven, impactful welfare measures across all species, not just cattle
- Make animal welfare a pillar of rural development and ecological transition, not a marginal add-on
- Prevent further dilution of conditionality, especially with regard to stocking densities, enrichment and access to outdoors
A new CAP is a new opportunity but only if we seize it.
Billions of animals across Europe depend on us getting it right.