On Tuesday 23 January in Brussels, the EU agriculture ministers asked to be involved in discussions regarding the strategic dialogue on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
During the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council, Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, provided the EU Council with details on the organisation of the strategic dialogue, which will be launched on Thursday 25 January.
He called for a consensus among stakeholders on the future of agriculture in Europe, striking a balance between competitiveness and the preservation of nature. Discussions as part of this dialogue should take place every 4 to 6 weeks. According to Maroš Šefčovič (see EUROPE 13332/4), a working group could evaluate the contributions according to themes (competitiveness, sustainability, innovation) and the work should be completed before September 2024, with a view to publishing guidelines to help the Commission reflect on the CAP post-2027.
Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, did not want to steal Maroš Šefčovič’s thunder by making a “modest contribution” to the debate. He pointed out that the EU is the world’s largest exporter of agricultural products, but stressed the loss of farmland (-1% of the total in ten years) and farms (-4 million in a decade) in the EU, and the ageing of the profession. He called for an increase in the CAP budget, as current funding is not sufficient to meet the challenges. The Commissioner advocated a 3rd pillar of the CAP to help farmers in times of crisis.
Romania has asked for more flexibility to modify the strategic plans implementing the 2023-2027 CAP and for environmental requirements to be simplified.
The ministers called for food security to be guaranteed, and several of them – fifteen, according to Romania – called for the derogations concerning certain eco-conditioned rules (set-aside, crop rotation) to be maintained in order to increase production.
Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany stressed the need to continue simplifying the CAP and to guarantee a competitive sector.
Luis Planas, the Spanish minister, said that the CAP reform had been far-reaching, despite the challenges that had to be overcome (drought, war in Ukraine).
The Hungarian minister, István Nagy, pointed out that the CAP needed to be adapted to the needs of farmers. He called for a better balance between sustainability and competitiveness in the sector, and for crisis management tools to be strengthened. Strategic dialogue must enable us to listen to farmers, concluded Mr Nagy.
The Netherlands stressed the need to strengthen trust between governments and farmers. “The demonstrations affect all countries”, noted the Dutch minister.
The German delegation underlined the need to make EU agriculture more sustainable and equitable. “Sustainability is a prerequisite for food security”, it stressed.
The Member States must be fully involved in this strategic dialogue, insisted the French delegation. “The role of farmers in our societies needs to be revalued”, France advocated, arguing that solutions must be found to farmers’ unease and concerns.
France and other countries have also stressed the need to ensure adequate incomes for farmers and to help them with the green transition.
Ireland has called for a solid CAP budget and resources outside the CAP. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)