In the new programming period ahead of the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aims to help the EU agri-food system to cope with a wide range of challenges-both locally and globally. Through the new CAP, the EU strives to successfully and fully facilitate the transition towards an agricultural sector that is able to ensure long-term high levels of food security, while simultaneously responding to the EU exigencies concerning the agri-food system, which needs to be competitive, sustainable, resilient, smart, inclusive, and diverse. In the new Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU has to find the proper instruments to efficiently manage the budget of EUR 264 billion, 72.6% allocated for direct payments support through the European agricultural guarantee fund (EAGF), and the rest of the budget is allocated for rural development measures through the European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD). Thus, in order to support the optimal use and monitoring of the resources allocated to meet the objectives of the new CAP in terms of competitiveness, the aim of this research was to spotlight the exigencies depicted in the literature based on a bibliometric analysis, hence shedding new light on the challenges ahead of the new CAP and identifying some strategic directions to be considered for policy-making in the EU. Research findings showed that the competitiveness of the EU agri-food system should be further consolidated by maximizing the synergies within the food, water, energy, and waste nexus in a manner that boosts the socioeconomic performance and sustainability. This approach has the potential to enhance the new CAP's responsiveness to climate-related issues, agri-food market disruptions, social changes, as well as to other emerging challenges. Ultimately, the research results and the strategic directions proposed in this paper empower the sustainability of the EU agri-food systems's competitiveness by responding to current agricultural needs and by aligning the system with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the European Green Deal.