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The post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy must recognize the central role of fisheries, on par with agriculture.
This was the key message delivered by Minister Francesco Lollobrigida during the Senate’s Question Time on July 24, 2025.
Today more than ever, the Common Agricultural Policy and the fisheries sector are closely intertwined in a critical debate on the future of European policies. During the Senate’s Question Time, the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, Francesco Lollobrigida, addressed a series of questions concerning the proposed CAP 2028–2034 framework. He emphasized the urgent need to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to EU funds that could undermine strategic sectors—fisheries included.
The Minister recalled how Italy played a leading role in promoting a joint position paper critical of the European Commission’s initial draft. The document gained support from 17 other Member States, and was later joined by Spain. The shared objective is clear: to defend dedicated allocations for the agricultural and fisheries sectors within the EU budget, preventing them from being left to the discretion of individual Member States.
“We believe that a single, undifferentiated fund does not reflect a truly European vision capable of ensuring food sovereignty. What is needed are targeted instruments that recognize—not a privilege, but the specificity—of both agriculture and fisheries,” the Minister stated, reaffirming Italy’s commitment to correcting what he described as a strategic mistake.
Lollobrigida also announced the upcoming presentation of a draft bill, linked to the national budget law, allocating one billion euros in national funding to support agriculture. Although not explicitly mentioned, it is reasonable to expect that part of this funding could benefit aquaculture and fisheries supply chains, as part of an integrated agrifood strategy.
Finally, another point of relevance for the fisheries sector emerged from the Minister’s reply to a question on the implications of new U.S. tariffs on European agri-food products. Lollobrigida highlighted that agri-food exports—including processed fish products—account for 12% of Italy’s total exports, with a 17% increase compared to the previous year. This growth underscores the strategic importance of dialogue with the United States to avoid harmful tariff measures.
The fisheries sector was explicitly referenced by Minister Lollobrigida in the context of the CAP 2028–2034 reform, as Italy firmly calls for its specificity to be recognized within the EU budget. At the same time, the introduction of new U.S. tariffs on agri-food products poses new challenges for processed seafood exports, highlighting the urgent need to defend the sector’s competitiveness with a coherent and proactive strategy.
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