Research and the bioeconomy are at the heart of the new agricultural policy, according to the Agriculture Council, which also decided on Tuesday 4 June in Bucharest not to conclude in June on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (see other news).
At their informal meeting on 2-4 June in Bucharest, Romania, EU Agriculture Ministers discussed proposals for the future CAP and initiatives to be taken in the field of research and the bioeconomy.
On Tuesday, Petre Daea, Romania's Minister of Agriculture, told the press that delegations called for “strong” policies during the debate to ensure that knowledge and research results are passed on to farmers. He stressed the challenges of the new CAP in this area (digitisation, integration of the primary sector into the value chain).
EU agriculture ministers had already discussed this subject of the bioeconomy last March (see EUROPE 12217/10).
MEP Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), who participated in the debates, welcomed the increase in the budget for agricultural research. He also said he hoped that after the Court of Justice ruling, the EU would have an opportunity to clarify things on innovation in genetics (subject of new GMOs; see EUROPE 12255/12).
High ambitions in the bioeconomy. “It is clear that we have high ambitions for the coming years as regards research and innovation in agriculture and in the bioeconomy”, said European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan. He recalled that the Commission had proposed a budget of €10 billion for research and innovation in the fields of food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment for the 2021-2027 period of the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF). “We have put innovation at the centre of the new CAP and we have updated the EU Bioeconomy Strategy”, the Commissioner stressed.
He also told ministers that the development of the bio-economy “has enormous job creation potential and can be an essential element in the maintenance of viable rural communities for generations to come”. According to him, the new modernised CAP “will give Member States ample margin for manoeuvre to define the tools and strategies that best fit their needs”.
Central and Eastern European countries are lagging behind. Mr Hogan agreed with the Romanian Presidency that innovation will be particularly crucial for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. “These countries have huge potential to produce food and non-food products for the bioeconomy. But this potential remains largely untapped”. Many of them “lag behind” in terms of innovation and research and their participation in the research framework programmes “remains low”, the Commissioner explained.
CAP post-2020. Romanian Minister Petre Daea welcomed the progress made in the Council on the three post-2020 CAP regulations (strategic plans, common market organisation, horizontal regulation), but acknowledged that most ministers wish to wait for the outcome of the 2021-2027 budget negotiations before reaching a common position on the post-2020 CAP (see other news). The Romanian Presidency will therefore present a progress report to the Agriculture Council on 18 June.
Phil Hogan also admitted that Member States want to wait until they know the content of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) before taking a position on the future CAP. The forthcoming EU Council Presidency (Finland) will resume work on the post-2020 CAP. “I hope we will have a good budget for the CAP” after 2020, concluded Mr Hogan. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)