The farm ministers of Spain and France have issued a joint statement on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), saying both countries "will not accept" any budget overhaul that fails to preserve the EU's current level of farm spending.

Spain has joined France in its campaign to preserve the EU's farm budget after 2013 when a major overhaul of the policy is due to kick in.

The two countries are among the biggest beneficiaries of the CAP, which absorbs some 40% of the EU's annual budget (see background).

As negotiations on the future of the CAP enter a critical phase, the two ministers stressed the importance of maintaining a strong agricultural sector that contributes to growth and jobs in Europe, said the joint statement, issued on Tuesday (14 February).

"In this respect, France and Spain consider it essential to maintain the CAP budget at least at the level of commitments reached at the end of the current programming period, as the Commission proposes." 

"France and Spain will not accept any financial framework that does not guarantee the stabilisation of the CAP."