Meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 15 November, EU agriculture ministers discussed the role of research and innovation for sustainable agriculture. The newer EU countries argued that they were not dealt with fairly when it came to EU research funding.
To inform the debate, the Slovak Presidency of the Council presented the findings of the high-level conference, “The role of regions in the European bioeconomy”, held in Bratislava on 17 October.
The Agriculture Council discussions brought to light division between the newer and the older member states. The former feel aggrieved since, overall, they receive less funding than the older states from the Horizon 2020 programme. Some suggested some form of upgrading for their projects during the selection process. Some countries, such as Denmark, argued for an approach that considers the quality of the proposal, irrespective of where it originates. A number of delegations indicated areas on which they would like the research focus to be placed. The Scandinavian countries highlighted forests and the bio-economy, while France spoke about the work it was doing on the ecosystemic approach to agricultural production. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)