Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon chaired the September meeting of the Agrifish Council of Ministers in Brussels, with the session taking place on Monday, September 28, and Tuesday, September 29, 2026, as Ireland holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Minister Heydon said it was his ambition to achieve a partial general approach on the next Common Agricultural Policy by the October meeting of agriculture ministers, and said he would only achieve that with the cooperation of member states. He described the target as ambitious but achievable.

A partial general approach would cover the main terms of the new CAP but would not involve the funding aspects, as this is subject to wider negotiations on the EU's next long-term budget. The agreement, while not being the final text on the next CAP, would steer the council's negotiations with the European Parliament on the future of farm payments from 2028 to 2034.

During the meeting on September 28, EU agriculture ministers discussed the next CAP, with Heydon describing the session as a “very productive” meeting and saying the talks had brought the EU “another step closer” to a post-2027 CAP. Ministers indicated that they welcome the progress made so far, particularly in relation to the stronger balance between common EU rules and the flexibility needed to address different national circumstances, while calling for simplified rules to ease the administrative burden for both farmers and national administrations, and for increased flexibility for provisions related to degressivity of direct payments and capping. Several ministers also wanted to see further clarifications on the definitions of farmer and active farmer, as well as regarding the transition between the EU's current long-term budget and the new period.