Brussels, 10/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), food safety and food security are the top priorities of the incoming Polish Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU, Polish Agriculture minister Marek Sawicki said at a press conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 8 June.
“I draw specific attention to the fact that we would like comprehensive reform of the CAP, to make it more proactive and European agriculture more competitive against other regions of the world”, he said. Poland intends, as part of the reform of the CAP, to put in place “new objective criteria” for determining how direct aid to farmers should be shared out. Poland has said that it wants to end the old system with its historic references, and, in this, it is joined by the European Commission and a majority of member states. “We must ensure” that the first pillar serves to pay aid and to reward farmers who have to meet exacting standards on food quality, protection of the environment and animal welfare, he said in substance. He also called for complementary payments for farmers who have to work in difficult circumstances or in areas important to environmental protection and conservation. Funding from the second pillar (rural development) should be focused on innovation, renewable energy, modernising farms and young farmers.
Biomass. “We must encourage the use of biomass for the generation of renewable energy”. Biomass production is an additional source of income for farmers and should be seen as fundamental, Sawicki said.
Milk package. Agreement is expected to be reached under the Polish Presidency on a raft of proposals for the milk sector. Sawicki said that the proposals on the table “are far from perfect. Further work will have to be done to improve them”.
Food safety. Poland has been quite scathing of Germany's handling of the E.coli outbreak. It points out that Spanish vegetable producers were wrongly accused of being at the source of the contamination. “This has undermined confidence. It will take time for it to be restored and discussions will have to take place on a European insurance model”, Sawicki said. (L.C./transl.rt)